Article
Corporate Finance
Tencent and KKR to buy minority stake in Philippines’ Voyager Innovations
May 20, 2020
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PLDT, the largest digital services and telecommunications firm in the Philippines, announced in a 4 October press release that investors led by China’s Tencent and New York-based KKR have agreed to buy a minority stake in its financial technology company, Voyager Communications
The investors will separately acquire US$175mn in shares of Voyager, with PLDT retaining the largest share in the fintech firm.
PLDT said that this is the largest investment ever made in a technology firm based in the Philippines, and that the transaction is expected to close by the end of this year.
“Voyager Innovations’ mission is to accelerate digital and financial inclusion in the Philippines and enable the broader Filipino population to participate in the digital economy,” the statement said.
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“With the global expertise and fresh capital from the new investors, Voyager Innovations will enable greater access to mobile payments and the internet as a whole for the country’s population.”
The firm’s existing, award-winning fintech platforms support services including PayMaya, a prepaid payment wallet service; Lendr, the Philippines’ largest digital lending suite; and freenet, a rewards app that enables free internet and app access.
“This is a watershed moment not only for Voyager Innovations but also for the Philippines,” said Orlando B. Vea, president and CEO of Voyager.
“With this investment by KKR and Tencent, we will trigger an inflection point in digital adoption and financial inclusion in the country.”
