NTT DoCoMo to Raise Stake in PLDT

NTT DoCoMo to Raise Stake in PLDT

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it plans to acquire approximately 6 million shares of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) (approximately 3.2% of total issued and outstanding shares, which is expected to be equivalent to approximately 13 billion Philippine pesos or 30 billion Japanese yen) from an affiliate of First Pacific Company Limited (FPC), PLDT’s largest shareholder. DoCoMo expects to finalize the specific terms of the transaction after discussions with FPC.

DoCoMo, which acquired 12,633,486 PLDT shares (approximately 6.7% of total issued and outstanding shares) from NTT Communications Corporation in March of this year, will have a total of approximately 19 million shares (approximately 9.9% of total issued and outstanding shares) after this latest acquisition. DoCoMo may consider purchasing additional shares in the future.

DoCoMo’s additional investment will further strengthen its relationship with PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART), PLDT’s wholly owned mobile subsidiary. SMART, with DoCoMo’s backing, intends to launch the i-mode™ service and expand W-CDMA services in the Philippines and promote international roaming services between Japan and the Philippines.

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