Investment in the Philippines’ Leading
Technology Company Supports Greater Financial Inclusion and Access
to Mobile Internet for Filipinos
PLDT Inc. (NYSE: PHI|PSE: TEL), the leading telecommunications
and digital services provider in the Philippines, global investment
firm KKR (NYSE: KKR), and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (0700.HK), a
leading provider of internet services in China, announced today the
signing of agreements under which investors led by KKR and Tencent
will separately subscribe to a total of up to US$175
million worth of newly-issued shares in Voyager Innovations, giving
them a substantial minority stake in the Philippines’ leading
digital technology company.
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the full release here:
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Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected within
the fourth quarter of 2018, PLDT will remain as the majority
shareholder of Voyager Innovations. The agreements also contain
provisions for Voyager Innovations to issue additional shares to
other investors which, if this were to occur, would reduce PLDT’s
ownership to less than 50% while still remaining as the largest
shareholder.
The new external funding in Voyager Innovations marks the
largest investment to date in a Philippine technology company. With
the global expertise and fresh capital from the new investors,
Voyager Innovations will enable greater access to mobile payments
and the internet as a whole for the country’s population.
Voyager Innovations’ mission is to accelerate digital and
financial inclusion in the Philippines and enable the broader
Filipino population to participate in the digital economy. The
company’s award-winning technology platforms support the following
digital services:
- PayMaya, the most recognized
prepaid payment wallet service in the Philippines, enabling
Filipinos to shop online, pay bills, buy airtime load, and send
money;
- PayMaya Business, the largest
mobile acquiring service in the Philippines, enabling enterprises
of all sizes to accept digital payments;
- Smart Padala, the largest
mobile-based remittance network in the Philippines;
- Lendr, the largest digital
lending platform in the Philippines; and,
- freenet, the most popular
rewards app for free access to the internet and apps in the
Philippines.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman, President and CEO of PLDT, said:
“Having global powerhouses such as KKR and Tencent as investors in
Voyager Innovations demonstrates not only their confidence in the
company’s ability to execute its vision, but also their confidence
in the Philippine technology industry as a whole.”
Orlando B. Vea, President and CEO of Voyager Innovations, said:
“This is a watershed moment not only for Voyager Innovations but
also for the Philippines. With this investment by KKR and Tencent,
we will trigger an inflection point in digital adoption and
financial inclusion in the country.”
Terence Lee, Director on KKR’s Southeast Asia team, said: “We
are excited about Voyager Innovations and to further invest behind
online payments leaders in emerging markets. Voyager Innovations
provides critical digital and financial services to millions of
Filipinos looking to join the digital economy for work and play. We
look forward to leveraging our industry expertise and resources to
help enhance the company’s mission of financial inclusion and
accelerate its growth at a time when the digital economy is more
important than ever.”
KKR’s investment in Voyager Innovations is being funded from KKR
Asian Fund III. The investment is KKR’s first private equity
investment in the Philippines and is part of the firm’s strategy to
invest in high-growth markets that the firm believes can benefit
from a rapid increase in technology adoption. Other investments KKR
has made in the technology and fintech sectors include Go-Jek
(Indonesia’s leading on-demand mobile platform for ride hailing,
food delivery, and mobile payments), Suishou Technology (one of
China’s largest personal finance management platforms) and First
Data (global payment technology and services solutions provider
with a presence in 118 countries).
James Mitchell, Chief Strategy Officer of Tencent, said:
“Voyager Innovations connects the growing smartphone population in
the Philippines to online payments and financial services. Tencent
is glad to support Voyager Innovations and to advance financial
inclusion.”
The foregoing investment in Voyager Innovations is not subject
to the compulsory merger notification regime under the Philippine
Competition Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. In
addition, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines’ central
bank, confirmed that it interposes no objection to the
investment.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is acting as financial advisor to
Voyager Innovations. Latham & Watkins and Picazo Buyco Tan
Fider & Santos are acting as legal counsel to PLDT and
Voyager Innovations. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison,
and Sycip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan are acting
as legal counsel to KKR and Tencent.
ABOUT PLDT
PLDT is the leading telecommunications provider in the
Philippines. Through its principal business groups--fixed line and
wireless--PLDT offers a wide range of telecommunications services
across the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and
fixed line, and mobile network. PLDT is listed on the Philippine
Stock Exchange (PSE: TEL) and its American Depositary Shares are
listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:PHI). PLDT has one of
the largest market capitalizations among Philippine listed
companies. Further information can be obtained by visiting the web
at www.pldt.com.
ABOUT VOYAGER INNOVATIONS
Voyager Innovations is the leading technology company in the
Philippines focused on developing customer-centric emerging market
platforms in the areas of digital payments, digital finance, and
marketing technologies. For more information, visit
www.voyagerinnovation.com.
ABOUT KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple
alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy,
infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager
partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate
attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a
patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class
people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio
companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it
manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and
investment opportunities through its capital markets business.
References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its
sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co.
Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on
Twitter @KKR_Co.
ABOUT TENCENT
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users.
Our social products WeChat and QQ link our users to a rich digital
content catalogue including games, video, music and books. Our
proprietary targeting technology helps advertisers reach out to
hundreds of millions of consumers in China. Our infrastructure
services including payment, security, cloud and artificial
intelligence create differentiated offerings and support our
partners’ business growth. Tencent invests heavily in people and
innovation, enabling us to evolve with the Internet.
Tencent was founded in Shenzhen, China, in 1998. Shares of
Tencent (0700.HK) are traded on the Main Board of the Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181004005328/en/
INVESTORS:PLDTAnabelle L.
Chuaalchua@pldt.com.phMelissa V. Vergel de
Diosmvvergeldedios@pldt.com.phVoyager InnovationsDuane
Williamsinvestor@voyagerinnovation.comKKRCraig
Larsoninvestor-relations@kkr.comTENCENTJane
Yipjaneyip@tencent.comPH
Cheungphcheung@tencent.comMEDIA:PLDTRamon R.
Isbertorrisberto@pldt.com.phVoyager
InnovationsNick B.
Wilwaycopr@voyagerinnovation.comKKRCara
MajorCara.Major@KKR.comDavid
KatzDavid.Katz@KKR.comTENCENTJane Yipjaneyip@tencent.comPH
Cheungphcheung@tencent.com
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