ePLDT bullish on new acquisition

Manila Times
Wednesday, March 08, 2006

ePLDT bullish on new acquisition

Riding on the strong revenue growth of its parent company, the Philippine Long Distance Co., ePLDT is likely to complete acquisition of online game publisher Level-Up! Philippines within the first quarter.

Ray Espinosa, ePLDT president, told reporters that the two companies have not agreed on the price of the acquisition. “We’re still negotiating, trying to find a common ground,” he said, adding that negotiations will likely be concluded within the first quarter.

The company is acquiring 60 percent of Level-Up! Philippines, the biggest online game publisher in the country with established presence in Brazil and India.

Owing to the acquisition, Espinosa said ePLDT is retargeting its capital expenditure of $10 million to $15 million this year and “will come out with a revised budget this month.”

He said that Level-Up! Philippines and ePLDT’s Netgames will be merged in the first quarter of 2007. The merger will make ePLDT the leader in online gaming in the country with an estimated 90 percent share of the market.

 “The acquisition of Level Up! is consistent with PLDT Group’s strategy to bring rich and compelling content to its Internet subscribers and users and eventually its mobile subscribers as well,” Espinosa said. 

He said the acquisition will enhance the position of ePLDT as one of the leading content aggregators in the country. “As ePLDT brings richer and more compelling content to the market, it is anticipated that demand for wired and wireless broadband services will further increase,” Espinosa said.

In 2005, ePLDT’s service revenues reached P3 billion, up 42 percent from P2.1 billion in 2004. ”Based on our forecast, our level of growth for 2006 is about the same as 2005,” he said, adding that the growth will be driven by call center and the data center revenues.

He stressed that the growth forecast does not include possible revenues from Level-Up!

In 2003, Level Up! introduced Ragnarok online game, a Korean anime-based, role-playing created by Korean developer Gravity Co. Ltd. 

Ragnarok is offered to the country market by Level Up! Inc., a unit of Level Up! International Holdings Pte Ltd.

Hong Kong conglomerate First Pacific Co. Ltd. owns 25 percent of Level Up! and 24.4 percent of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
--Darwin G. Amojelar

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/mar/08/yehey/business/20060308bus10.html