PUBLICLY listed Intellectual Property Ventures Group Corp., or IPVG, would focus on buying two more companies outside the Philippines this year before listing its subsidiaries, the company said over the weekend.

“While we’re very open to possibilities of listing our subsidiaries, it’s more logical that we focus first on the acquisitions, then the integration—especially that—because it’s not easy to integrate companies,” president Enrique Y. Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez spoke to BusinessMirror after a speech in Makati City on “advergaming” or advertising in online games.

IPVG subsidiary IP E-Game Ventures (Egames) Inc. holds the license to sell Internet-based games for children and young adults aged 12 to 25 years old.

“Let’s put it this way: We just bought Hong Kong-based Globalstride Corp. and Globalstride Holdings Ltd. for $1 million; and we still have two more  subsidiaries,” Gonzalez added.

He declined to name the companies IPVG will buy beyond saying that is in Singapore and the other is in HK.

“We can’t grow organically in the Philippines and we want to grow our business faster. We can only do that by setting up regional centers,” Gonzalez added.

Gonzalez said that going public with one or all of IPVG’s subsidiaries “is always an option. But after the purchase, we would integrate the companies first in terms of operational and cultural elements.”

He said the minimum integration is six months. “Only by that time can we review if an initial public offering is a viable option.”

He explained that IPVG’s acquisition strategy is prompted by the country’s fragmented infrastructure for technology. “The integrated Asean bloc in Internet protocol, for example, hasn’t happened. It can only happen if they establish a working regional infrastructure.”

Companies like IPVG, which also operates contact centers, rely heavily on technology and the fast exchange of data through a sophisticated information and telecommunication network.

Dublin, Ireland-based Research and Markets Inc. have predicted that the Asia-Pacific regional markets would witness the continuing transition from existing narrow-band access to broadband access.

Gonzalez explained that the company would buy two more firms outside the Philippines, using the P750 million in equity funding from investors that included three banks as well as the publishing group of the Belmonte family.

With this, Gonzalez said that the last offering of additional 16 million shares is the last since “we now have the war chest for our strategic acquisitions.”

IPVG, he added, posted P41 million in revenue in the first half. The company expects a top line revenue of P357 million.

PUBLICLY listed Intellectual Property Ventures Group Corp., or IPVG, would focus on buying two more companies outside the Philippines this year before listing its subsidiaries, the company said over the weekend.

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