PLDT completes sale of BPO unit

MANILA, Philippines - Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has completed the sale of its stake in business process outsourcing (BPO) arm SPi Global Holdings Inc. in favor of European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners with net proceeds amounting to over $300 million.

In a statement, PLDT announced that it completed the sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary to CVC Capital’s Asia Outsourcing Gamma Limited (AOGL).

The telco giant also announced that it acquired a 19.7 percent interest in AOGL after it reinvested $40 million of the proceeds to be able to participate in the growth of the business as a partner of CVC.

The intention to sell the BPO businesses was initially announced by PLDT chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan in February 2013 after a regular review of the PLDT group’s strategy and portfolio.

Pangilinan described the sale as “an opportunity for PLDT to realize attractive returns for the benefit of the group and its stakeholders” and the reinvestment in AOGL as confidence in the long-term prospects of SPi.

UBS acted as exclusive financial adviser to PLDT for the transaction.

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 divest its entire interest in SPi Global and reinvest 20 percent in AOGL after the buyer committed to further expand and retain its presence here in the Philippines.

SPi Global is a leading globally recognized, full-service BPO provider with 30 offices and facilities around the world, including the US, Netherlands, Philippines, India, Vietnam and Australia. 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, Netherlands, Australia, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.