"Procedural" issues hound Globe's takeover bid for Bayantel

"Procedural" issues are still hounding the take over of Globe Telecom Inc. for bankrupt Bayan Telecommunications Holdings Inc. (Bayantel), but officials are hopeful the National Telecommunications Commission's (NTC) will approve the rehabilitation plan within the second quarter.

There are still "procedural" issues being ironed out in the NTC hearings, Globe's general legal counsel Froilan Castelo told reporters on the sidelines of a media briefing in Makati City Tuesday.

"It's mostly 'legal' documents, like details of the affidavit but it doesn't attack the transaction itself," Castelo later told GMA News Online.

In October, Globe and Bayantel filed a joint application before the NTC for a change in controlling interest in Bayantel.

But Rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) cried foul, saying Globe's takeover bid “perpetuates an anti-competitive and anti-consumer telecommunications environment.”

Apart from PLDT, the San Miguel group and a number of small operators are also protesting the impending takeover, Castelo said.

"Comparing apples to apples, the PLDT-Digitel merger was cleared and did not need Congressional approval. We're still on track to close this deal," he said.

Despite all the issues and protests, Globe sees this happening in the second quarter, Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu told reporters in the same briefing.

"We're waiting for NTC ruling," he said.

Globe will end up having a 57-percent equity interest in Bayantel once its secures NTC approval, CFO Alberto de Larrazabal said. 

The Ayala-led telco currently holds a 38 percent stake in Bayantel, which Globe bought under a debt-to-equity deal in December 2012. 

For the remaining stake of the Lopez group in Bayantel, "that's something still under discussion," he added.

In May 2013, Globe and the Lopez Group asked the rehabilitation court to restructure Bayantel's $423.3-million debt to prevent default, which was subsequently approved by the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 158 in September. – VS, GMA News