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PLDT buys majority stake of Sun Cellular

The biggest IT story of the day is PLDT’s acquisition of Digitel which operates Sun Celluar, the 3rd largest telco player in the Philippines.

PLDT, which owns Smart Comm., becomes a much bigger operator and strengthening it’s number 1 spot in the country.

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone company announced today its acquisition of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel) from JG Summit amounting to Php74.1 billion or 51.55% shares in exchange of new PLDT assets worth 2,500 per share.

Digitel, which owns Sun Cellular, announced that under the new leadership the paired networks will continue to the expansion of broadband rollout and other next generation technologies in both fixed and wired services. {source: PhilStar }

PLDT says Sun Cellular will remain a separate entity and retain the brand. Smart already surpassed 45 million subscribers in 2010 while Sun Cellular, which has over 16 million subs, was already inching closer to Globe Telecom (26.5 million).

Smart’s rapid growth and expansion requires more wider frequency and that might have prompted the Sun Cellular buy-out. At the same time, Sun Cellular has become a large player in terms of post-paid subscribers (even the first one to reach 1 million). Meanwhile, Smart has only around 500k postpaid subscribers while Globe has around 900k.

From having 3 large celco players, we now have just 2 — Smart at far #1 and Globe at a minority #2.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

53 Responses

  1. Avatar for celulitis bolitas celulitis bolitas says:

    Do you have any video of that? I’d love to
    find out some additional information.

  2. Avatar for garcinia cambogia garcinia cambogia says:

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  3. Avatar for RACAS RACAS says:

    PLDT and Smart’s acquisition of Sunbroadband is a disaster to the sun subscribers. PLEASE BAN, BOYCOTT these companies. I am a sun subscriber for 3 years now and when they merged…..it was BAD WORST to NO connection. Then they said they were upgrading the system. Pfft!!! Liars!!! For months now, after they took over, they cheat me all the time in billing and connection. Headaches. Don’t be fooled by their advertisement “Fast and reliable!” pfft!!! Sun now is slow and unreliable, thanks to the bad business of PLDT and Smart. Go to hell all of you!!!! The worst thing is I have to endure them because I’m under contract. Do you think you can cheat your way all the time? Your still alive but your are already rotting in hell. Theyre the devil in the flesh. Oh please add MERALCO in the list of worst company of all time.

  4. Avatar for Geo Geo says:

    I don’t agree that SMART and SUN will merge… eh kaya ng HARI ng UNLIMITED ang SUN eh kasi SILA ang nauna pagdating sa UNLIMITED… and take note kung wala sila baka UNTIL NOW di pa NAUSO ang UNLIMITED… Its time para magtipid… kaya mag SUN NA KAYO!!!

  5. Avatar for metal1369 metal1369 says:

    give it a few years and then SUN will set permanently only smart and globe will remain.
    habang mainit pa ang balita kukumbinsihin tayo na sun will remain as is.
    but in the coming years, unti unti na mawawala ang sun cellular, until it will just be a memory that once there was neutralizer between globe and smart.

  6. Avatar for jordan jordan says:

    smart sucks.. their website crushes a lot kaya hindi ako makapag-unli sa plug-it internet. Their customer service is not even close to satisfactory. laging hindi matawagan. tas super bagal ng kanilang internet kahit full bar na 3G signal… Globe is a little better..

  7. Avatar for gukoson gukoson says:

    there’s a flying news that globe will be tied up with international carriers soon be here in Philippines.. that would beat up smart and sun…

  8. Avatar for dane dane says:

    fault din ng subscribers ito kasi d ntin gaano n embrace ung product ng sun….

  9. Avatar for daniel daniel says:

    it shows how smart MVP really is! haha GO SMART 55 millions subscriber? hahahahahhahaha grabe ang adik ng PLDT LOL! proud to be witht the LARGEST! hahaha

  10. Avatar for Ismaeldelacruz Ismaeldelacruz says:

    Pati sana Bayantel bilin na ni pangilinan para makatikim naman ng maganda serbisyo mga subs ni bayantel. Me backbone din to nationwide din (TelicPhil)

  11. Avatar for Erick Garcia Erick Garcia says:

    Now what? Di paba sila nabubusog sa pagka “GIANT”? Come on! Since PLDT is the majority holder, they now have the financial control and influence over SUN and I’m not liking it.

  12. Avatar for agrimensor agrimensor says:

    This maybe in preparation for the new player as ngernger pointed out.One of our lot which was leased by Nextel is being negotiated by SMC for their cellsite. So tuloy na tuloy na to.

  13. Avatar for ngernger ngernger says:

    In a statement MVP assured that the unli services of sun will be retained. It should benefit SUN kasi it is now backed by SMART’s infra.

    May paparating naman ata na telco from SMC, so let’s wait and see. :D

  14. Avatar for JohhnyBilyar JohhnyBilyar says:

    We no longer have a market neutralizer. Too bad for us. The subscriber base of Sun are those fed up customers of Smart & Globe.

    Now we just have to live with it.

  15. Avatar for wreek888 wreek888 says:

    I hope MVP will also buy abs cbn.

  16. Avatar for simplynice93 simplynice93 says:

    Bakit maraming negative comments? Wala pa namang ginagawa ang PLDT to affect Sun Cellular’s services. Act appropriately guys..

  17. Avatar for Les Les says:

    Naninawala ba kayo na hindi kaya tapatan ng Smart ang mga offers ng Sun… greedy lang talaga yan si MVP! Halos lahat ng kumpanya binibili.

    Pasalamat tayo sa Sun, dahil sa kanila na tigil ang pataasan ng presyo ng Globe and Smart!

  18. Avatar for elmer elmer says:

    Looking at the big picture, plain to see how the brilliance (and generosity and public service) of the Gokongweis intimidated the bigger players. Another headliner for this might be: PLDT can’t lick SUN. Let’s just hope PLDT will be true to its word and keeps Sun as it is. And let’s just hope the Gokongweis will come up with another bright idea in comm terms.

    One day we’ll be reading: PAL buys CEBU PACIFIC.

    Great job, great man Mr. Gokongwei

    • Avatar for Tetchie Tetchie says:

      I agree….Mr. Gokongwei is brilliant. With Cebu Pacific, bumaba mga airline fares and with Sun Cellular call and text became cheaper. Sana he’d go into oil business….para bumaba ang gasolina!!

  19. Avatar for metal1369 metal1369 says:

    sa umpisa palitan ng stocks, susunod nyan merger na. NTC should monitor these 2 companies movements in the future.

  20. Avatar for Zen Zen says:

    Would this also mean that the 1peso international text will be not be served anymore?
    I hope,leaning to wishing,they won’t change the plug-in broadband speed.

  21. Avatar for max max says:

    meron kumita = digitel
    meron kikita = pldt
    meron malulugi = pldt subscriber or digitel subscriber?

    mvp has been buying his competitors but pldt service still sucks big time.

    any digitel shareholders here? i heard their stock values did not appreciate from the buy out of digitel.

  22. Avatar for adam adam says:

    Tingin ko hindi mawawala yung mga unlimited offering ng sun kasi meron na yun sariling market. Anyway part of the earnings ng sun will go to PLDT kaya why would they destroy their own market.

  23. Avatar for Benchmark Benchmark says:

    Hmmm Tama nga yung na-foresee ng Sun dati nung nag start sila mag-operate…darating ang araw na mag u-unlimited na din ang Globe and Smart…pero sana hinde na lang sila nagpa-absorbed sa Smart.

    But then again, I will be Globe user til the end…hehehehe 10 years in Globe prepaid…heheheehe happy pa din.

  24. Avatar for Tech Boi Tech Boi says:

    Mawawala na call and text unlimited ng Sun. Tsk tsk tsk.

  25. Avatar for brwneagle brwneagle says:

    At least you can expect a fair scrutiny from American government for a possible unti-competitive nature of the deal (AT&T who is buying T-mobile). But for Smart (PLDT) buying the Digitel (Sun cellular) pfffft no Philippine agency can stop that. Pay back time for large corporations who are bank rolling the elections! Consumers are in the losing end….:(

    • Avatar for notAlone notAlone says:

      @brwneagle: I’m not sure, pero mukhang NTC ang pwedeng magblock ng deal na ‘to since NTC ang regulatory body ng government on airwaves. Maybe SEC or DTI also (?) for anti-monopoly reasons.

  26. Avatar for brwneagle brwneagle says:

    At least you can expect a fair scrutiny from American government for a possible unti-competitive nature of the deal (AT&T who is buying T-mobile). But for Smart (PLDT) buying the Digitel (Sun cellular) pfffft no Philippine agency can stop that. Pay back time for large corporations who are bank rolling the elections! Consumers are in the losing end….:(
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/29/us-att-newyork-probe-idUSTRE72S4WB20110329

  27. Avatar for poche poche says:

    @razorous.
    need mo magbayad ng licensing fee sa apple para maioffer ang iphone. sabi ng yuga ang tsismis daw e 6B pesos para maioffer ang iphone dito. nakaya lang to ng globe since kapartner nila yun singtel ng singapore.

    anyway back to topic sa tingin ko mali ang mga title ng headlines about pldt at digitel. kasi nga wala naman cash na involve dito kundi share-swapping ang magaganap. parang nagpa absorb lang ata sila.

  28. Avatar for razorous razorous says:

    A little bit off topic. Bakit hindi offer ng Smart ang iPhone, yet Globe does?

  29. Avatar for Arnold Gamboa Arnold Gamboa says:

    IMO, it’s bad for the consumers. Sun is like the equalizer. Smart and Globe has poor service in a lot of areas. Sun is always an alternative. Were will healthy competition go now?

  30. Avatar for Abe Olandres Abe Olandres says:

    @plsburydoughboy – Sun will eventually ride or share Smart’s network so both will be bigger, just like what they had with TnT.

  31. Avatar for Tristan Tristan says:

    I just hope that it will help boost Sun’s network coverage. Like what everyone said, it will be good for us consumers… yun nga lang, wag sana maging sakit sa ulo…

  32. Avatar for xpactor xpactor says:

    Digitel’s official disclosure on the Philippine Stock Exchange website states that the deal is an “all-share transaction” meaning despite the billions of Pesos involved, not a single centavo of cash will be/has been shelled out. In return for handing over the majority control of Digitel, the Gokongwei group will get a 12.8% stake at PLDT.

    This 12.8% stake at PLDT also earns them 1 board seat at PLDT meaning it is not impossible for a Gokongwei to become ceo of PLDT in the future lol.

  33. Avatar for Mark Mark says:

    They mentioned that Sun Cellular will become a separate entity, so this could mean a wider network for Sun Cellular which I hope, while retaining the unlimited plans.

  34. Avatar for plsburydoughboy plsburydoughboy says:

    Hey Abe. I know the press release makes it clear Sun will stay a separate entity (at least for the moment), but is there any indication that Sun coverage is affected by this now? My experience is malakas talaga Sun coverage as long as you stay in NCR.

  35. Avatar for allan allan says:

    Less players in the wireless comm industry means more burden for the consumers. Yun naman talaga ang gusto ni pangilinan i monopolize ang negosyo ng telecommunications.

    • Avatar for Dwight Dwight says:

      Salim Group ang may pakana nito.. Salim Group naman ang nagbibigay kay MVP ng pera nya e..

  36. Avatar for anlo anlo says:

    where’s an antitrust law when you need one.

  37. Avatar for Erin Erin says:

    I don’t like it but you have to admit it was a brilliant move by Smart. If you can’t beat them, buy them out.

    I am a Smart prepaid user but I value Sun’s promotions as they force Smart and Globe to offer similar promos.

    ciao!

  38. Avatar for Jonaflormicfren Jonaflormicfren says:

    It’s part of change, accept it. The competition will be much better I think. http://learner-spot.blogspot.com/

    • Avatar for cutejigs cutejigs says:

      could you further explain why the competition will be better now that Smart bought Sun which gives consumer better and cheaper rates?

      olats… better get your idea straight mate.

    • Avatar for lolipown lolipown says:

      better ignore that guy. He’s been spamming his shitty blog with worthless comments like that for quite a while now.

    • Avatar for arz arz says:

      eh, may lalabas daw na bagong telecom, (sabi-sabi) unlimited calls daw to all networks in the phils regardless kung landline or cellphone.. (rumor lang ah.. liberty daw)

  39. Avatar for Jun Jun says:

    thats the big question.. yan nga ayaw nila noon.. nagka demandahan pa nga dyan diba.. :) well antayin na lang naten ang susunod na kabanata

  40. Avatar for Harvey Harvey says:

    Now what will happen to SUN’S UNLIMITED PREPAID Scheme? Personally I like SUN than SMART. Mas tipid and convenient.

    • Avatar for Les Les says:

      I agree ang laking tipid talaga if you use Sun.

      Pero kung meron offer in the future na unlimited text Sun to Smart, panalo!

    • Avatar for Krypton15 Krypton15 says:

      kami rin.. almost lahat sun gamit namin.. from mobile, to broadband, to landline.. hehehe! sobrang tipid talga at sobrang sulit lalo na ang unli calls and text.. ganda pa ng signal ng broadband nila sa amin, sulit talga..

    • Avatar for dane dane says:

      don’t worry d yan mawawala

  41. Avatar for jun jun says:

    bad news to all sun subscriber.. unting unti mawawala lahat ng promo nila.. mamahal na naman ang text at call.. hays :) monopoly… anti competition.. grrrr.

    • Avatar for makujun makujun says:

      we encourage everyone that all suncellular subscriber both prepaid and postpaid are still same products and service offered UNLIMITED sun services is still intack.. no worries about the deal made by MVP vs. JGI .. everything is fine.. SUNCellular is a Sister company of Smart Telcom.

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