THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approved the Alibaba group’s acquisition of a 45% stake in Globe Telecom, Inc.’s Fintech arm.
PCC Chairperson Arsenio M. Balisacan told BusinessWorld yesterday that its Mergers and Acquisitions office approved the transaction on Wednesday.
“We did approve the acquisition by Alipay Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd of Globe Fintech Innovations,” said Mr. Balisacan in a mobile phone message when asked about the decision.
However, the decision has yet to be posted on PCC’s website, and be distributed to involved parties.
Alipay Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd. (Alipay) and Ayala Corp. notified the anti-trust body on May 26 of the proposed acquisition of new common shares of Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., or Mynt — a wholly owned unit of Globe Capital Venture Holdings, Inc. (Globe Venture).
Upon the conclusion of the deal, Alipay and Globe Venture will each hold a 45% stake, while Ayala Corp. will hold 10%.
While the deal’s value has not been disclosed, acquisitions exceeding the P1-billion threshold trigger the PCC’s reporting requirements.
Ant Financial Group, an Alibaba unit, operates data and technology platforms to provide digital financial services to consumers and small merchants. It includes the third-party payment service platform Alipay.
Globe said earlier that the infusion of fresh capital will allow Mynt to scale up its mobile wallet services and expand its digital financial services, “to accelerate financial inclusion and upgrade payment services in the Philippines.”
Mynt is a one-stop shop for Fintech services for consumers, merchants, and organizations through GCash and Fuse Lending. It currently has over three million registered customers with P1 billion worth of weekly transactions.
The PCC initiated its 30-day Phase I review a day after notification.
The deal moved to the PCC’s 60-day Phase II review on July 27, before being approved.
Since its inception, the PCC has received 117 mergers and acquisition notifications, of which 106 were reviewed, while 35 moved to Phase I review.
On Aug. 8, the PCC concluded its two-year transitory period, meaning it can now impose sanctions against violators of the Philippine Competition Act. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
