PLDT Explores Stake Sale In Data Center Assets To Raise Cash For Business Development

Philippines’ largest telecommunications firm PLDT Inc PHI, weighed the sale of a significant minority stake in its data center assets as it battled fallout from a spending scandal.
PLDT eyed selling telecom towers in 2023 to offset the impact of the capital spending exceeding its budget, Bloomberg reports citing familiar sources.
PLDT consulted financial advisers as it weighs bringing in an investor into its data center business.
A transaction could value the business at $700 million - $800 million.
A partner would help the company raise cash and further develop its business.
In 2022, PLDT sold half its telecom towers for about $1.3 billion in two portfolios to Edotco Group Sdn. and EdgePoint Infrastructure units. It’s also considering selling a few thousand towers for about $300 million.
PLDT had weighed a sale of the data centers in 2021 before putting the process on hold.
PLDT did not consider a stake sale “as of the moment,” Mitch Locsin, PLDT’s first vice president and head of the enterprise, said in response to a Bloomberg query. He added that the company’s information technology unit focused on completing its hyperscaler 11th data center.
PLDT grappled with local investigations and a U.S. shareholder lawsuit related to a 48 billion peso ($871 million) spending overrun discovered in an internal audit last year.
Price Action: PHI shares traded lower by 0.77% at $24.34 on the last check Thursday.