Investment in the Philippines’ Leading Technology Company Supports
Greater Financial Inclusion and Access to Mobile Internet for Filipinos
MANILA, Philippines–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
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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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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181004005328/en/
INVESTORS:
PLDT
Anabelle L. Chua
alchua@pldt.com.ph
Melissa
V. Vergel de Dios
mvvergeldedios@pldt.com.ph
Voyager
Innovations
Duane Williams
investor@voyagerinnovation.com
KKR
Craig
Larson
investor-relations@kkr.com
TENCENT
Jane
Yip
janeyip@tencent.com
PH
Cheung
phcheung@tencent.com
MEDIA:
PLDT
Ramon
R. Isberto
rrisberto@pldt.com.ph
Voyager
Innovations
Nick B. Wilwayco
pr@voyagerinnovation.com
KKR
Cara
Major
Cara.Major@KKR.com
David
Katz
David.Katz@KKR.com
TENCENT
Jane
Yip
janeyip@tencent.com
PH
Cheung
phcheung@tencent.com
Source: KKR