PLDT proposes $3 million settlement in US budget mess suit

February 23, 2024 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Integrated telco PLDT Inc. has proposed to settle $3 million, or around P165 million, to resolve a class action suit filed against it in the US over its budget fiasco.

In a disclosure before the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT said it entered into a stipulation of settlement to resolve the class action lodged against it by two law firms.

If the settlement is approved by the courts, the plaintiffs suing PLDT will receive $3 million and would free the telco from any liability, resolving the class action in its entirety.

In 2023, a class action suit led by shareholders Sophia Olsson and Kevin Douglas was filed against PLDT for reportedly sustaining losses from the telco’s budget mess. Olsson, represented by The Rosen Law Firm, owned two PLDT shares and lost $22.69 from the capital overspend.

Douglas, lawyered by Levi and Korsinky, held 35 shares in the company and lost $240.23 from the budget overspend. PLDT, in response, had asked a California court to reject the class action, insisting that lead plaintiffs own a small interest in the telco.

In 2022, PLDT shook the capital markets when it informed shareholders of a spending breach of P48 billion between 2019 and 2022.

The telco attributed the capital overspend to the procurement of new technologies, including 5G sites, that it failed to roll out during the pandemic, leading to losses.

Since then, PLDT has resolved the budget mess by negotiating with vendors to bring down the budget overrun to P33 billion.

Meanwhile, PLDT yesterday announced it would pursue the construction of its 12th, 13th and 14th data centers to serve the surging demand for hyperscale spaces. The technology arm of the telco will open VITRO Sta. Rosa – its 11th and largest data center – in July.

ePLDT Inc., which manages PLDT’s data centers, operates 10 facilities for a capacity of 50 megawatts. By the time VITRO Sta. Rosa is opened, ePLDT will double its capacity to 100 MW, cementing the ePLDT’s hold of the data center market.

ePLDT president and CEO Victor Genuino said the company would spend at least $6 million for each MW of a data center.

Connectivity providers like PLDT are investing in data centers to serve the growing requirement of tech giants like Amazon, Google and Meta for facilities where they can store their applications and information.