Globe Telecom Inc. said on Monday it borrowed anew from a local bank to finance the acquisition of a 50-percent equity interest in the telecommunications unit of San Miguel Corp.
The telecom unit of Ayala Corp. said it signed a 15-year P5-billion term loan with Union Bank of the Philippines.
Globe said it would use proceeds of the the loan to finance the acquisition of a 50-percent equity interest in Vega Telecom Inc., Bow Arken Holdings Company Inc. and Brightshare Holdings Corp.
The other half of the equity of VTI, BAHC and BHC is to be acquired by PLDT Inc.
Globe in September signed a 12-year and 15-year P20-billion term loan facility arranged by First Metro Investment Corp., with Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. as lender, to finance the acquisition of Vega Telecom.
The telco’s mobile internet customers are expected to benefit from the added capacities and greater geographic coverage that the additional spectrum can provide, particularly that of the 700 megahertz frequency from Vega Telecom.
Globe also signed a 10-year P7-billion term loan facility with Union Bank to finance the company’s capital expenditures.
Globe’s capex this year would mostly be invested in data-related projects, including long-term evolution technology for mobile and home, capacity and coverage augmentation of 3G and HSPA+, modernization of fixed-line data infrastructure and requirements for transmission facilities.
Globe earlier reported a 50 percent drop in net income in the third quarter to P2.7 billion from P5.43 billion after acquiring 50 percent of San Miguel’s telecom assets.
Its net profit in the first nine months amounted to P11.7 billion, down 17 percent from P14.1 billion in the same period in 2015.
Globe’s core profit, which excludes the impact of the non-recurring items, one-time gains, foreign exchange and mark-to-market charges, stood at P11.7 billion, down 8 percent year-on-year.
The company’s consolidated service revenues rose 7 percent in the first nine months to P89.1 billion from P83.4 billion in the same period last year.
