PLDT to rely mostly on cash for GMA purchase

Manila, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) would rely mostly on cash to acquire a controlling stake in GMA Network Inc., PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

In an interview with reporters after the signing of a branding partnership between PLDT and SM Prime Holdings, Pangilinan said the acquisition of a controlling interest in the broadcast firm would be paid mostly in cash.

 “But we would like to put up most of it with our own cash,” he stressed.

Aside from cash, the PLDT head said they are also in talks with banks and financial institutions for loans.

 “It will most likely cash and loans. We’re already talking to our banks,” Pangilinan said.

He clarified that loans would only fund a small portion of the transaction.

The country’s top telco is hoping that the transaction would be completed within the year but would still depend on negotiations with the Duavit, Jimenez, and Gozon families that control GMA.

Likewise, he added that the transaction would also have to be approved by Congress and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

 “The time table is beyond our control because we have to get the approval of both the Congress and the NTC,” he explained.

PLDT affiliate MediaQuest Holdings, he said, would most likely acquire GMA’s common shares while PLDT would pick up Philippine Depository Receipts (PDR).

PDRs are a form of equity reserved for foreigners as the Constitution prohibits foreigners from having voting shares in media entities.

PLDT is controlled by Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd. and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo but MediaQuest is owned by PLDT’s Beneficial Trust Fund.

Mediaquest has acquired a controlling stake in TV5 operated by Associated Broadcasting Corp.