DITO CME Holdings Corporation, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector holding firm of Davao tycoon Dennis A. Uy, reported that its subsidiary DITO Telecommunity Corporation has secured a $3.9-billion 15-year long-term project finance facility after raising P4.44 billion from stock sales.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the firm said the facility will be one of the largest long-term debt arranged and syndicated by a group of multinational banks for a Philippine corporation.

The proceeds will be used to extinguish short-term bridge loan facilities totaling $1.3 billion with the balance to pay contractors and fund the continuing network rollout of DITO Tel. 

The firm said this will further improve the quality of access and user experience as well as accelerating the take up of its FWA 5G and mobile postpaid product offerings.

“This project finance facility represents strategic trust and confidence in the vision of the Company to be a major enabler of digital services in the Philippines,” said DITO CME President Ernesto R. Alberto.

He added that, “the signing of this long-term project finance facility is a key milestone, one that helps ensure future funding activities, in both debt and equity.”

In combination with the recent equity investments at the DITO CME level, the firm aid this long-term debt provides DITO Tel with more confidence in achieving its business plan targets at the soonest possible time.

In total, the Dito group of companies had raised about P4.44 billion from the sale of substantial amounts of its shares of stock.

DITO CME said its subsidiary DITO Holdings Corporation, had issued 2.24 shares to Summit Global Ltd., an entity organized and existing under the laws of the Cayman Islands, at a consideration of P1.00 per share.

The issuance of new shares at DITO Holdings amounts to approximately 18.5 percent of its issued and outstanding capital stock. After such issuance, DITO CME said it shall own 72.91 percent of DITO Holdings.

This comes after DITO CME sold shares equivalent to 13.55 percent of its outstanding capital worth P2.2 billion to two firms that have been recently registered in Singapore.

DITO CME said the buyer of P610 million worth of its shares is “unrelated third-party subscriber Xterra Ventures Pte. Ltd. at an issue price of P1.00 per share.”

A separate disclosure identified the buyer for P1.59 billion Dito common shares as Summit Telco Corporation Pte. Ltd., an unrelated third party subscriber also at an issue price of P1.00 per share.