PLDT unit completes purchase of SPi

ePLDT, the information and communications technology arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), has completed the acquisition of business process outsourcing (BPO) firm SPi Technologies in a deal valued at $135.34 million.

SPi Technologies is the ninth largest independent BPO service provider in the world, with operations in 19 locations in North America, Europe and Asia.

ePLDT acquired 100 percent of the shares of SPi Technologies, a Philippine company, from SPi’s sole shareholder, SPi Tech LP for a total consideration of $135.34 million in cash.

As part of the transaction, ePLDT also acquired a $7 million in debts owed by SPi to its parent SPi Tech LP at face value.

In addition, ePLDT advanced $16.43 million to SPi to allow the latter to fully pay its debt to DBS Bank Singapore. ePLDT intends to have this debt refinanced by SPi in due course, ePLDT officials said.

"The acquisition of SPi, together with ePLDT’s existing Ventus call center group, creates the industry’s foremost BPO services provider with the necessary operating scale and financial strength to invest consistently and aggressively in innovation, while continuing to provide world-class customer service and support to clients," PLDT said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

"We are proud to complete the acquisition of SPi. Its well-established presence in the US and its domain expertise in a variety of service verticals will give us a unique opportunity to increase our participation in the growing base of the global outsourcing and off-shoring market," ePLDT president and CEO Ray Espinosa said.

He added that this acquisition also manifests PLDT’s commitment to make the Philippines one of the leading BPO locations in the world "and our abiding faith in the capabilities of the Filipino workers."

As of end-May, SPi Technologies had 6,500 employees and 4,200 seats worldwide. Together with its Ventus call center, ePLDT now has over 11,000 employees and about 8,300 seats in its call center operations, PLDT said.

SPi customers include Fortune 100 companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies in the financial services, healthcare, legal and publishing markets. SPi services these customers onsite, and from facilities in the Philippines, India, US, China (25 percent ownership) and Vietnam (outsourced).

SPi president and CEO Ernest Cu said the management team is very supportive of this acquisition and quite excited about this new phase in SPi’s history. – Mary Ann Reyes, Zinnia Dela Peña