Converge ICT Solutions, an emerging fiber internet service provider, which is minority owned by US private equity firm Warburg Pincus, has just completed the Philippines’ second largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) worth USD 600 million. The main bulk of the sale proceeds will be invested in the company’s expansion over the next 18 months.
Converge aims to provide the largest fiber internet service, banking on heightened demand for high-speed internet, driven by the rise of video streaming services, e-commerce, and e-learning, as well as a surge in industry-wide demand due to the shift to remote working and using Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
The company has partnered with CommScope, a US-based network infrastructure provider, to build Converge’s internet backbone in both urban and rural areas to leverage CommScope’s expertise in network design, deployment, and project management, particularly for fiber connectivity.
The partnership also forms part of Converge’s ongoing USD 1.8 billion internet backbone expansion plan to reach a coverage of about 55% of total households nationwide by 2025. As of September 2020, Converge’s domestic network spans over 35,000 km, covering 200 cities and municipalities across the Luzon region and reaching approximately 5.1 million homes. Enterprises make up about 20% of total revenues with around 10,000 business subscribers.
(Sources: Philippine News Agency, ABS-CBN)
