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ISM
Communications Inc. has increased its stake in Eastern
Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (ETPI) by about 10.2
percent to 77.7 percent.
ISM, an
information technology firm, said Thursday in a
disclosure to the stock exchange it signed an agreement
with the government to purchase the latter’s stake in
ETPI for P104.09 million.
“ISM
concluded an agreement with the Republic of the
Philippines, through the Privatization Management
Office, for ISM to purchase 2,652,000 common shares in
ETPI owned by the Republic for a total consideration of
P104,091,000.00,” ISM said in the disclosure sheet.
Prior to
the sale, ISM owned 67.5 percent of ETPI.
Last
October, ISM bought 2.55 million Class A common shares
or 9.8 percent of ETPI from Smart Communications Inc.,
the country’s leading wireless-service provider.
ISM took
control of Eastern in 2005 by buying a 40-percent stake
from Australia Gigahertz Network International Pty.
ISM is
an affiliate of Internet gaming firm PhilWeb Corp.
ISM
president Eric Recto said ISM will strengthen ETPI’s
presence in areas where it is authorized to offer its
services, including broadband Internet services. |
