PLDT sells remaining stake in SPi Global

MANILA, Philippines – PLDT Incorporated is exiting from the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry by selling its remaining 20% indirect stake in SPi Global Holdings Incorporated to a global private markets investment manager.

PLDT told the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday, May 22, that private markets investment manager Partners Group will acquire SPi Global on behalf of its clients from CVC Capital Partners Asia III and PLDT Global Investments Corporation (PGIC), an indirect subsidiary of PLDT. The deal is worth $330 million (P16.42 billion).

PLDT, through PGIC, has an 18.32% economic interest in SPi Global. (READ: PLDT to outsource back-office IT to IBM)

It was in 2013 when PLDT sold its BPO businesses owned by its then wholly owned subsidiary – SPi Global Holdings Incorporated – to Asia Outsourcing Gamma Limited, a company controlled by CVC Capital Partners. 

PLDT then reinvested approximately $40 million (P1.99 billion) of the proceeds from the sale in the said business.

AOGL subsequently divested from its healthcare BPO and customer relationship management businesses in 2014 and 2016, returning $53 million (P2.64 billion) in proceeds to PLDT through PLDT Global Investments.

AOGL is a subsidiary of European private equity company CVC Capital Partners.

PLDT said completion of this acquisition by Partners Group will be subject to certain closing conditions. 

“Cash distributions to PLDT will be determined after the acquisition is completed,” PLDT said in the disclosure.

New business partner

“After a period of dynamic growth under our prior owners, we are very happy to welcome Partners Group as our new business partner and look forward to working with the firm to further complement our global footprint as well as client service capabilities,” SPi Global president and chief executive officer Ratan Datta said in a separate statement.

Following the transaction, 3 senior Partners Group executives will join the BPO firm’s Board of Directors at SPi Global.

Partners Group is a global private markets investment management firm with over $57 billion in investment programs under management in private equity, private real estate, private infrastructure, and private debt. 

The firm manages a broad range of customized portfolios for an international clientele of institutional investors. 

Partners Group is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and has offices in San Francisco, Denver, Houston, New York, São Paulo, London, Guernsey, Paris, Luxembourg, Milan, Munich, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Manila, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Sydney. 

Meanwhile, PLDT saw its consolidated net income drop to P4.969 billion in the 1st quarter of 2017 from P6.233 billion in the same period a year ago. – Rappler.com

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