The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) has reportedly approved incumbent telco PLDT’s planned P6.75 billion (US$120 million) buyout of broadband and cable TV provider Sky Cable Corporation.
The PCC has been scrutinising the deal since PLDT first announced it in March 2023. According to media reports, PLDT said in a statement to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday that the PCC had given its blessing to the deal on January 19.
With that hurdle cleared PLDT is one step closer to closing the deal, under which it will acquire Sky’s fibre broadband business and cable TV business. PLDT said it still has to finalise other closing conditions of the deal before the Sky Cable acquisition is official.
According to the Manila Bulletin, PLDT intends to merge Sky’s broadband business with its own, while the cable TV side of the business would be taken over by DTH satellite provider Cignal TV, which is owned by MediaQuest Holdings, the media partner of PLDT Group.
When the deal was first announced last year, PLDT said the acquisition would “narrow the digital divide” by combining the resources of both networks to expand coverage in remote areas. Fitch Group’s CreditSights told the Inquirer at the time that PLDT stands to gain around 350,000 broadband subscribers from the deal. It would also increase PLDT’s broadband market share from 45% to 47-48%. Globe Telecom ranked second at 31%, the report said.