MVP companies consolidate ownership in PLDT data arm

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan’s new venture has received additional shares from its parent companies in a transaction that closed the ownership gap among its owners.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT said its data arm DigiCo has received separate subscriptions from all its owners.

PLDT, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) entered into separate agreements with DigiCo for the subscription of a total of 570 million common shares.

Given this, the ownership structure of DigiCo was also shaken up. Prior to this, PLDT owned 60 percent of DigiCo, with Meralco and MPIC sharing the remainder of the stake equally.

With the enlistment of new shares, PLDT maintains control over DigiCo, but its stake is reduced to 45 percent. Meralco and MPIC, meanwhile, end up with 27.5 percent each.

In August, DigiCo acquired for P320 million a 10-percent stake in Bayad, owned by Meralco, to mark its entry into the payment business.

Pangilinan has made moves to raise DigiCo as a company, starting with investments in payment channel Bayad Center and e-commerce gateway Multipay Corp.

DigiCo purchased 56,105 common shares in Bayad for P5,703.59 per piece, computed based on Bayad’s valuation considering current and future cash flows.

DigiCo wants to share its data resources with Bayad to help in further expanding the business. Bayad is one of the biggest platforms for bills payment, handling a portfolio of roughly 800 outlets and more than 104,000 touchpoints across the Philippines.

Likewise, DigiCo bought out Multipay for P250 million to add an e-payment solution to its fold. DigiCo ate up all of the 903,000 common shares in Multipay for P276.85 apiece, taking it over from Multisys Technologies Corp., a subsidiary of PLDT Global Investments Holdings Inc.

Pangilinan, who chairs DigiCo, said the company invested in Bayad and Multipay on confidence that they would play a crucial role in the national push to go digital.

DigiCo handles the data assets of the MVP Group of Companies, particularly of PLDT, Meralco and MPIC, to develop new solutions based on consumer trends.