APC Group close to deal for sale of Philcom

APC Group, controlled by leisure and gaming firm Belle Corp., is close to finalizing an agreement with a domestic carrier on the sale of its telecommunications unit Philippine Global Communications Inc., according to a top company official.

APC president Willy Ocier said while talks are ongoing, a deal is expected to be completed within the first quarter of the year.

He refused to identify the party it is selling Philcom to but hinted that the buyer is a dominant carrier. He said the buyer would assume Philcom’s P5 billion debt.

He added the sale of Philcom would allow APC to focus on more profitable ventures like oil and coal exploration and mining, and improve its cashflow.

It would be recalled that Fiber Telecom withdrew last year its offer to purchase the debt-laden Philcom. APC is bent on selling Philcom which has been a drag on the group’s bottom line.

Philcom has been incurring losses for the past several years. These losses have accumulated to P6.85 billion since 1998 and, have resulted in negative stockholders’ equity for APC.

In 2005, Philcom widened its net loss to P646.1 million from P635.9 million in 2004 on higher expenses.

In the nine months ending September 2006, APC incurred a net loss of P192.51 million, significantly lower than the previous level’s P313.87 million. The improvement was mainly due to higher revenues.