MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) said on Wednesday that its subsidiary is teaming up with PhilTower Consortium, Inc. (PhilTower) to create a digital infrastructure company.
In a stock exchange disclosure, Meralco said that Miescor Infrastructure Development Corp. (MIDC) and PhilTower plan to form and invest in a joint venture company.
The planned partnership seeks “to meet the growing demand for 4G and 5G mobile network infrastructure across the Philippines,” the power distributor said.
“The JVCo will have Philippine-wide coverage and is well placed to support the growing connectivity needs of the country,” it said.
It is subject to regulatory review by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Competition Commission.
MIDC is an independent tower company registered with the Department of Information and Communications Technology that provides tower construction, site acquisition, site permitting and erection of towers, and tower management services to telecommunications companies.
It is a joint venture between Meralco Industrial Engineering Services Corp., a subsidiary of Meralco, and alternative investment firm Stonepeak.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
