Philippines' PLDT, Globe to buy San Miguel telecoms assets for US$1.5b

Manila

THE Philippines' top two telecoms firms agreed to buy conglomerate San Miguel Corp's assets in the sector for nearly US$1.5 billion in a joint deal they said will significantly upgrade slow Internet services that have been a drag on one of Asia's fastest-growing economies.

In separate statements on Monday, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co and Globe Telecom Inc said that they will acquire subsidiaries of food-to-power group San Miguel that include a prized 700-megahertz frequency. The transaction is valued at 69.1 billion pesos (S$2 billion), they said.