KKR and Tencent lead $175m investment in Philippines’ Voyager Innovations
Telco PLDT, investment firm KKR and Tencent are part of a $175 million investment in Philippine digital tech company Voyager Innovations.
“Largest investment to date in a Philippine tech company”
Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected within the fourth quarter of 2018, PLDT will remain as the majority shareholder of Voyager. The other two take minority stakes.
According to the firms, the new external funding marks the largest investment to date in a Philippine tech company.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman, president and CEO of PLDT, says: “Having global powerhouses such as KKR and Tencent as investors in Voyager Innovations demonstrates not only their confidence in the company’s ability to execute its vision, but also their confidence in the Philippine technology industry as a whole.”
James Mitchell, chief strategy officer of Tencent, adds: “Voyager Innovations connects the growing smartphone population in the Philippines to online payments and financial services.”
Voyager provides various digital services. These include PayMaya, a prepaid payment wallet service; PayMaya Business, a mobile acquiring service; Smart Padala, a mobile-based remittance network; and Lendr, a digital lending platform.
KKR’s investment is being funded from KKR Asian Fund III. The investment is KKR’s first private equity investment in the Philippines.
The companies explain that the investment is not subject to the compulsory merger notification regime under the Philippine Competition Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations. In addition, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Philippines’ central bank, confirmed that it interposes no objection to the investment.
