Lotto service provider DFNN to get P310M from PCSO

A Makati regional trial court has ruled that DFNN Inc. should get P310 million from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and not the P27 million decided by an arbitration panel last year, the company said Monday.

"This is to inform the Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. that today, DFNN Inc. received a copy of the Decision dated February 17, 2016 issued by the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, Branch 66 in relation to the Petition for Correction filed by the company," DFNN said in a disclosure.

"In its decision, the court granted the petition and ordered the correction of the Arbitral Award to P310,095,149.70 plus 6 percent interest from the date of finality of the decision until final satisfaction thereof by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in accordance with computation for liquidated damages provided under Section 13.2 of the Equipment Lease Agreement between the company and PCSO," DFNN added.

In June 2015, an arbitration committee has ordered the PCSO to pay lotto betting services provider DFNN P27 million in liquidated damages for terminating an equipment lease agreement (ELA) for no valid reason.
 
DFNN, whose shares are traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange, noted the arbitration panel declared the PCSO erred when it rescinded DFNN's lease agreement that encompasses a systems design development and an upgrade of lotto betting via personal communications devices.
 
"In ruling that PCSO improperly terminated its ELA with DFNN, the arbitration panel noted that the grounds relied upon by PCSO to effect the cancellation of DFNN's contract were misplaced and/or unfounded," the company said in a separate disclosure to the exchange last year.

DFNN, formerly the Diversified Financial Network Inc., on Monday emphasized that the amount of damages was miscalculated at only P27 million.

In another disclosure on Monday, the company asked the exchange for a temporary trading halt of its shares.

"We'd like to give the trading and investing public enough time to digest the recent events," the company said.

The trading halt was in place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. – VDS, GMA News