NTC approves merger deal of Globe, Islacom

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has finally approved the merger deal between cellular firms Globe Telecom and Isla Communications Inc. to create the sixth largest telecommunications company in Southeast Asia in terms of market capitalization.

Globe Telecom vice president for legal services Ma. Caridad Gonzales informed the Philippine Stock Exchange that the NTC has given the go-signal for the share-swap transaction last Feb. 6, nearly a year after the concerned parties signed a definite agreement for the deal worth about $2.3 billion.

Under the merger terms, Globe Telecom will be the surviving entity as it will issue a package of new common and preferred shares to Islacom’s shareholders in exchange for 100 percent of the issued and outstanding stock of Islacom.

Islacom, a non-listed company, is owned by Asiacom Philippines Inc. and DeTeAsia Holdings GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany’s Deutsche Telekon AG. Globe’s controlling shareholders, on the other hand, are Ayala Corp. and Singapore Telecom International Pte. Ltd., a fully-owned subsidiary of the Singapore telecom giant.

However, Gonzales said the approval of the NTC was made subject to the settlement of Globe and Islacom’s outstanding assessment of annual supervision and regulation fees which the two companies, like other telecom firms, have been paying under protest.

"The matter of the annual supervision and regulation fees is now subject of a pending case before the Supreme Court," she added.

Nonetheless, Gonzales said the merged companies will work on the necessary filings, secure consents and obtain the appropriate approvals from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PSE in order to effect the closing of the share-swap.