Voyager to complete KKR, Tencent deal by mid-November

PLDT Inc. is expecting to complete transactions regarding global investment firm KKR and China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s investment into Voyager Innovations Inc., the telco giant’s digital innovations arm, by the middle of November.

“We’re still in the process of closing the transactions. The target date of completion is around the middle of November,” PLDT Inc. chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters.

“There’s one or two conditions precedent to closing and then we’ll probably wait one or two weeks for the funds to flow into the Philippines and be registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” he said.

Earlier this month, PLDT announced that it has inked agreements with investors led by KKR and Tencent to separately acquire up to $175 million worth of newly-issued shares in Voyager.

Asked if the company is talking to any other investment groups, Pangilinan cited the intention of the World Bank’s investment arm, International Finance Corp.(IFC), to invest around $20 million, which it has previously disclosed on their website.

“I think they’re thinking of increasing their investments. So we just have to wait for their confirmation,” Pangilinan said.

“There’s one or two more investors waiting in the wings,” he said.

Pangilinan earlier said the company expects more investors to come in that could subscribe to about $50 million worth of newly-issued shares of Voyager, bringing the new investors’ investment to as much as $225 million.

He said the investment of KKR and Tencent into 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.

In line with the KKR and Tencent investment, PLDT said the agreements 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 percent 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, PLDT said Voyager Innovations would have greater access to mobile payments and the internet as a whole.

“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,” Voyager Innovations president and chief executive officer Orlando Vea previously said.

Voyager 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.

The company is the operator of PayMaya and Lendr, which seek to promote digital access, customer engagement, digital commerce and digital financial services.