Fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc is acquiring the stake of PLDT unit Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) in two firms involved in cable landing stations in the Philippines.
The telecommunication service provider said that has acquired shares of Digital Telecommunications Phils. Inc. (DTPI) in Digitel Crossing Inc. (DCI) and Asia Netcom Philippines Corp. (ANPC) for a total of $7.5 million (P358.47 million) to gain “strategic imperative to expand its capabilities in telecommunications.”
According to the report, Converge the transaction has been completed as of Wednesday, June 2. This means that the fiber provider now owns a 60% controlling stake in ANPC and a 40% stake in DCI. ANPC has a 20% share in DCI.
Digitel, whose other major shareholder is Pacnet Network (Philippines) Inc. of Australian telecom giant Telstra, maintains and operates cable landing stations in the Philippines connected to the EAC and C2C cable systems. Together the two submarine cable systems have eight landing points in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, spanning 19,800 kilometers with a design capacity of 2.56Tbps.
International cable systems are the unseen backbone of internet services used by billions of people around the world and make landfall in facilities called landing stations.
The deal was also expected to bring cost benefits for Converge, which is increasing its presence in the international cable segment amid an aggressive expansion program, it said. Converge aims to cover 55% of Filipino households by 2025.