PLDT Inc., through its investment arm PLDT Capital, has divested all its investment in technology firm Phunware Inc. for $9.5 million.
PLDT Capital sold all its Phunware common shares for an aggregate amount of $9.5 million or P482 million last October 25, the telco said.
“This results to a gain amounting to P421 million and full divestment of the investment in Phunware,” PLDT said in a Philippine Stock Exchange filing yesterday.
PLDT began investing in Phunware almost seven years ago after PLDT Capital subscribed to a $5-million convertible promissory note issued by Phunware.
Phunware, an expansive mobile delivery platform, creates, markets and monetizes mobile application experiences across multiple screens.
Through its pioneering multiscreen as a service platform, Phunware enables companies to engage seamlessly with their customers through mobile devices, from indoor and outdoor locations-based marketing and advertising to content management, notifications and analytics, to indoor mapping, navigation and wayfinding.
In 2020, PLDT also fully divested all its stake in Berlin-based Rocket Internet and in iflix, a regional streaming service provider.
PLDT, through unit PLDT Online Investments Pte. Ltd., sold the remaining 0.4 percent stake in Rocket Internet for P508 million in October 2020, resulting in the full divestment of its stake in the technology firm.
PLDT’s stake was gradually diluted after series of transactions. It sold 1.4 million Rocket Internet shares for an aggregate amount of P1.5 billion, reducing its equity ownership from 1.4 percent to 0.4 percent.
PLDT derecognized its investment in iflix following the acquisition of Tencent group of iflix for $22.5 million. – Myla Iglesias
