ePLDT Buys SPi

NEW YORK -- ePLDT has completed its acquisition of SPI Technologies (SPi), a leading business process outsourcing (BPO) company. The purchase price was $158.8 million inclusive of debt. The acquisition is considered a strategic move that will place ePLDT at the forefront of the fast growing BPO industry. ePLDT currently has a call center operation through ePLDT Ventus. The business combination with SPi will create one of the largest and most diversified operations in the industry with 11,000 skilled employees delivering a wide range of knowledge-based voice and non-voice solutions.

Since its founding 26 years ago, SPi has evolved into a global outsourcing provider with 6,500 employees across North America, Europe, and Asia. The preferred outsourcing vendor for large-scale, complex and information intensive projects, SPi partners with customers to create, manage, deploy and store their content and data in multi-format environments. Its customers include Fortune 100 companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies in the financial services, healthcare, legal and publishing markets. Ray C. Espinosa, President of ePLDT said, "The acquisition was driven by ePLDT's desire to take advantage of the forecasted strong growth of the global BPO industry. SPi is one of the premier assets in the industry, considering their brand recognition in BPO, solid track record and large base of loyal customers. Together, we are well placed to be one of the dominant players in the business."

"With all our acquisitions, we seek opportunities that enhance our growth, improve the quality of our earnings, and complement our corporate culture. While SPi certainly meets our financial objectives, I'm equally pleased by the addition of such a dedicated workforce with a tremendous work ethic and focus on quality," added Napoleon L. Nazareno, President of PLDT.

Ernest L. Cu, President & Chief Executive Officer of SPi said, "The management team is very supportive of this acquisition and quite excited about this new phase in SPi's history. Global 2000 companies are increasingly preferring full service companies who can deliver a broad range of both voice and non-voice services across multiple countries. With ePLDT's call center capabilities, IT infrastructure and financial resources, we will be among a select few in the world who can execute on these opportunities."

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT)