PLDT considers REIT listing for data center business

Pangilinan-led PLDT Inc. on Thursday said it is considering having its data center business listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) through a real estate investment trust (REIT), with the firm now in talks to sell a stake in the asset to Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT).

According to PLDT chairman and chief executive officer Manuel V. Pangilinan, the firm is looking at a valuation north of $1 billion for the data center business amid ongoing talks with NTT, which currently owns 25% of the local telco.

Pangilinan said the firm is looking to retain control or at least 51% of the business, with the goal of deciding what moves to proceed with on or before the end of June.

"Obviously, if you sell control of the data center, we don’t get more money or more premium, that’s just how it is,” he told reporters in Makati City.

“So the question to PLDT is: do we keep control of what we regard as a strategic asset for the group because one of the major pillars of ePLDT would be the data centers,” he added.

Pangilinan said the firm is also open to talking with other prospective buyers and that negotiations are not limited to the NTT, which it has been in a relationship with since 1995, given the $1-billion valuation of the business.

“Business is business. If they cannot meet the target objective of valuation for PLDT… Yes, we have to talk to others who offer high valuation,” he said.

Should the valuation not be met, Pangilinan said PLDT is also considering listing the data business as a REIT on the local bourse, under which the firm will maintain full control of the business.

“Don’t be surprised if we go for that. We could still get a value that’s close enough to the value we want, which is north of $1 billion, so we have more flexibility with REIT because we can retain control of the operations of the data center and we have the majority of the equity interest,” he said.

In the same briefing, Pangilinan said he has met with two or three candidates who could possibly succeed him as president and chief executive officer, saying he does not intend to stay “too long” in the position.

Pangilinan returned as president and CEO in January, following the retirement of Alfredo Panlilio, effective December 31, 2023.

PLDT reported an 8% growth in its telco core income for the first quarter to P9.320 billion from P8.640 billion, while its attributable net income increased by 9% to P9.320 billion from P8.640 billion as total revenues grew by 4% to P54.24 billion from P52.362 billion. — VBL, GMA Integrated News