PLDT Inc. said Thursday it terminated negotiations with European private equity firm CVC Capital Partners Ltd. for the sale of a minority stake in its data center business.
PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan said the discussions with CVC Capital on latter’s acquisition of a minority stake in its data center business has expired.
“We did not extend … [But] we’re in discussions at the moment with another potential foreign investor. So difficult to see how that will come out,” Pangilinan said during the company’s financial briefing.
“So we also rethink other positions in data centers whether we should sell or not,” he said.
PLDT also terminated negotiations with Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in August 2024 for the sale of a 49-percent stake in Vitro Inc. because the latter wanted a majority stake or 51 percent in its data center business.
Pangilinan earlier said PLDT planned to sell a 49-percent stake of ePLDT in Vitro for about $1 billion. Vitro is a fully-owned subsidiary of ePLDT, the ICT holding company of the PLDT Group.
He said the data center sale aimed to reduce PLDT’s debt amounting to P273 billion as of end-2024.
VITRO operates 10 facilities with a combined capacity of 50 megawatts and is building its 11th data center in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The activation of the Sta. Rosa facility will increase its capacity to 99.5 MW.
PLDT reported a net income of P32.3 billion in 2024, up 21 percent from P26.6 billion in 2023.
The company’s consolidated service revenues amounted to P194.7 billion in 2024, up by 2 percent from 2023.
Telco core income, excluding the impact of asset sales and losses from Maya Innovations Holdings, reached P35.1 billion, up by 2 percent from the previous year.
“Our 2024 results highlight PLDT’s resilience and the continued demand for reliable connectivity. But our intention is to use this as a benchmark for even better performance in the coming years,” Pangilinan said.
“The telco landscape is evolving quickly, and we will work non-stop to innovate, improve our services, and exceed customer expectations” he said.