Philippine telco giant PLDT, formerly Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, announced a $1 billion deal with a foreign company to sell almost 50% of its stake in its data center unit.

PH Telco Giant PLDT Aims To Sell Almost 50% of Its Stake

According to ABS CBN News, the Philippine telco giant is finalizing a deal with a foreign company that would buy a stake in its data center business.

The final bidder agreed on the valuation of $1 billion for the data center business. PLDT Chairman Manny Pangilinan confirmed these details during the PLDT Annual Stockholders' Meeting in Taguig.

Interaksyon reported that the deal is expected to be finalized by July. As of writing, PLDT plans to sell up to 49% of its business.

"We will keep 51 percent ownership of the data centers, both the hyperscalers and the domestic data centers that we have," explained Pangilinan.

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Who is Buying PLDT's Stake?

The PLDT chairman disclosed that the $1 billion proceeds will be used to pay the company's debt. He added that the final bidder is a smaller data center business operator.

Previously, Manny Pangilinan said they were discussing a potential deal with Japan's NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone). However, they didn't confirm what the deal was for.

Pangilinan also didn't clarify if NTT is the final bidder they are coordinating with. The Japanese telecommunications company also refused to comment on PLDT's ongoing stake sale plan.

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