PLDT Inc. is looking to raise as much as $400 million from the planned listing of a real estate investment trust (REIT) backed by its data center assets, a transaction that could value the initial portfolio at up to $800 million as the telco moves to unlock value from its digital infrastructure business.
“I would say around US$300 million to $400 million,” PLDT Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan told reporters on Tuesday when asked how much the company expects to raise from the proposed VITRO REIT.
The planned fundraising covers an initial portfolio of eight operating data center assets under VITRO Inc., with a combined capacity of about 27 megawatts (MW), excluding the larger 50-MW Santa Rosa facility that remains outside the proposed offering.
Pangilinan said the planned fundraising points to a valuation of about $600 million to $800 million for the initial portfolio of eight operating data centers aggregating 27 megawatts. He added that the Santa Rosa facility alone could be worth at least $1 billion, implying a total platform valuation of roughly $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion.
While PLDT has yet to finalize the structure of the transaction, including the final portfolio, valuation, offer size, and ownership arrangements, Pangilinan said discussions are continuing with stakeholders, including KKR, which owns a stake in VITRO.
UBS AG and BPI Capital are advising ePLDT on the proposed VITRO REIT listing.
“This is an important step in our efforts to unlock value from PLDT’s digital infrastructure portfolio, while continuing to support the country’s growing demand for enterprise-grade and AI-ready data center capacity,” ePLDT President Victor S. Genuino said.
VITRO operates a nationwide network of data centers serving enterprise, hyperscale, and cloud customers and is expanding capacity amid growing demand for digital infrastructure and artificial intelligence workloads.
To recall, the Securities and Exchange Commission expanded the scope of REIT-eligible assets to include digital infrastructure, such as information and communications technology infrastructure and data centers.
