DITO CME Holdings Corporation, the Philippine telecom giant, has announced on Thursday that it raised P2.24 billion ($44.7 million) by issuing new shares of its subsidiary, DITO Holdings Corporation, to Summit Global Ltd., a firm based in the Cayman Islands. This is part of the corporation's ongoing efforts to fund the additional equity requirements of its operating subsidiary, Dito Telecommunity Corp.
The 2.24 billion shares were issued at a rate of P1.00 per share. DITO CME holds an 89.46% stake in DITO Holdings through its subsidiary Udenna Communication Media and Entertainment Holdings Corporation. Post issuance, the ownership of DITO CME in DITO Holdings will stand at 72.91%.
The proceeds from this share issuance will be used to fund the additional equity requirements of Dito Telecommunity Corp., through the payment of subscription payables of DITO Holdings to Dito Telecommunity Corp., according to a disclosure made to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
This recent round of funding follows closely behind another significant transaction by DITO CME, where it sold shares equivalent to 13.55% of its outstanding capital for P2.2 billion ($43.8 million) to two Singaporean firms, Xterra Ventures Pte. Ltd., and Summit Telco Corporation Pte. Ltd. The issued shares were priced at par value considering that the current book value per share was -P2.21 as of June 30, 2023, and since the company cannot issue new shares below par value.
The net proceeds from these transactions will be fully invested by the corporation in its operating subsidiary, DITO Telecommunity Corporation, which is in line with the capital contribution commitments of DITO.
These funds are expected to support the roll-out of its telecommunications business, improving quality of access and user experience and accelerating the take-up of its FWA 5G and mobile postpaid product offerings.
Previously on August 26, 2021, Dito raised P280 million ($5.6 million) from the sale of shares to Loden Infra Technologies Ltd., nudging up its public float just above the bourse's minimum requirement of 20%.
DITO CME president Eric Alberto stated that raising as much investment as possible is essential for funding their critical projects as the telco vertical is a very capital-intensive industry. The company has allotted P27 billion ($538 million) for 2023 capital expenditures.
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