Gokongwei Group hikes PLDT stake

MANILA, Philippines — The Gokongwei family has raised its stake in telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. to 11.23 percent, to take advantage of the stock’s current low price.

In a disclosure yesterday, JG Summit Holdings Inc., the listed conglomerate of the Gokongwei Group, said it acquired seven million common shares of PLDT for $138.8 million or $19.70 each share.

The shares acquired comprise 3.26 percent of the total outstanding shares  of the company.

“JG Summit considers this transaction as a valuable investment since PLDT Inc. has historically paid good dividends. The acquisition of the common shares of PLDT will not have any adverse effect on the financial condition of JGS. As a result of such acquisition, the shareholdings of JGS in PLDT will be 11.23 percent,” it said.

Last year, JG Summit chairman James Go also acquired more PLDT shares.

Go is a director of PLDT which is  chaired by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan.

From a 52-week high of P1,386 per share, PLDT is now trading at an average of P1,042.91 apiece.

The Gokongwei-owned conglomerate once tried to buy PLDT, but later on decided to just sell its Digitel to PLDT for P74.1 billion.

In 2011, the Gokongweis bought into PLDT for P69.2 billion and later on bought a 29.6 percent stake in Manila Electric Co.

PLDT is an integrated telecommunications service provider in the Philippines with its business activities categorized into three units: wireless, fixed line, and others. It operates the Philippines’ most extensive fiber optic backbone and fixed line, and cellular network.