MVP confirms talks with Euro fund mgr

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) is in exclusive talks with European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for the acquisition of its 80-percent controlling stake in Illinois-based business process outsourcing (BPO) unit SPi Global Holdings Inc.

“Yes,” PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan replied when asked if the company was in exclusive talks with the fund manager.

He pointed out that the company hopes to conclude talks with CVC Capital soon.

“In the next few weeks, there is no definitive date yes, but hopefully in the next few weeks,” the PLDT chief added.

Last month, Pangilinan said PLDT was in the final stages of the purchase and the company hopes to conclude talks within January.

More than a dozen foreign firms in Asia have expressed their interest in acquiring PLDT’s wholly-owned subsidiary when it announced last September that it was looking at divesting its interests in SPI Global.

PLDT decided to divest 80 percent of its entire interest in SPi Global and retain 20 percent after the buyer committed to further expand and retain its presence here in the Philippines.

The company decided to divest its stake in the company due to its minimal contribution to the PLDT Group in terms of finances and operations.

SPi Global is a leading globally recognized, full-service BPO provider with 30 offices and facilities around the world. It has over 18,000 employees delivering a wide range of solutions in customer relationship management, content, and healthcare.

It offers a wide range of voice and non-voice BPO solutions as well as the broadest global delivery network with 30 locations spanning North America, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Besides divestment, the PLDT group also considered other options such as an initial public offering or strategic partnership, to expand SPi Global’s international footprint.

SPi’s service revenues went up by 17 percent to P4.8 billion in the first half of the year. The company’s knowledge process service revenues increased 18 percent while revenues from customer relationship management increased 15 percent.