PLDT offers same price of P1.603 to minority Digitel stockholders

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is offering to buy for P1.603 per share the minority shareholders of Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (Digitel), the same price paid to JG Summit Holdings Inc. and other related parties, PLDT said yesterday.

The JG Summit Group was the majority shareholder of Digitel with a 51.55-percent equity stake before PLDT’s buyout last October. The PLDT Group is now required to make a tender offer for the remaining Digitel shares held by minority stockholders.

Earlier, a group of minority shareholders of Digitel filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), alleging that they are being discriminated upon. They are asking to be paid P21 per share, similar to what they claim was paid to the JG Summit Group.

PLDT spokesperson Ramon Isberto explained that the total consideration of P69.2 billion paid to the JG Summit Group included not only its 3.277 billion Digitel shares (which amounts to approximately P5.2 billion at P1.6033 per share) but also the zero-coupon convertible bonds issued by Digitel and its subsidiaries that are convertible into 18.6 billion shares as of June 30, 2011 (equivalent to around P29.8 billion at P1.603 per share) and the advances made by JG Summit to Digitel and its subsidiaries amounting to approximately P34.1 billion.

Isberto noted that the Digitel minority shareholders may have divided the P69.2 billion total consideration for the sale of JG Summit’s 51.55-percent stake in Digitel with the total number of common shares involved. “They have to remember that the purchase of Digitel shares at P1.6033 per share by PLDT only amounted to P5.2 billion. The rest of the P69.2 billion was for the convertible bonds and advances,” he said.

He also pointed out that unlike the transaction with the JG Summit Group which was a purely stock transaction, the Digitel minority shareholders were given the option to be paid either in PLDT shares or in cash.

The minority shareholders holding 3.079 billion Digitel shares representing 48.45 percent stake in the company will be paid a total of approximately P4.9 billion (at P1.6033 per share) in cash or in PLDT shares valued at P2,500 per share should all the concerned shareholders accept the tender offer.

The tender offer for Digitel minority shareholders commenced last Dec. 7 and will end on Jan. 9, 2012.