Witnessing the signing were Rally Martinez, philstar.com COO, and Sandy Roxas, Bidshot.com CFO. The MOA provides for the rapidly growing online auction site to be the "official and exclusive" C to C auction site of philstar.com. In addition, philstar.com shall take a minority equity stake in Bidshot.com.
Garcia remarked, "The Internet is now a fast growing alternative venue for one to buy or sell goods. The entry into this new and profitable arena has been restrictive in the past due to the cost of software, hardware, hosting, etc. and therefore limited to big institutions, but not anymore. Bidshot.com’s vision is to see the common Filipino participate in the newfound growing Internet business in the Philippines, wherever he may be."
Belmonte, for his part, expressed optimism on the synergies that will result from the partnership of philstar.com and Bidshot.com. "Bidshot.com at the moment is the only Filipino auction site that allows for mobile e-commerce, and we expect that this first mover technology advantage will be critical in succeeding in this market space", he said.
Martinez further added that the new partnership falls in line with the strategy of philstar.com to partner with the global best, in terms of technology and content. "We at philstar.com believe that this MOA signing brings us a step closer to achieving our goal to become the leading portal for the Filipino global community."