Telecommunications titan PLDT Inc. is currently waiting for investment firm KKR & Co. to determine the next steps for the initial public offering (IPO) of digital banking platform Maya, as PLDT looks to boost its ownership stake and maximize its long-term market value.
PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan confirmed that talks with KKR regarding Maya’s stock market debut are still underway, reiterating the telecom provider’s full backing of the listing.
“We are endorsing [and] supporting the IPO, but there are certain issues that we have to work out with them. It’s not us, it’s them,” Pangilinan told reporters.
According to Pangilinan, the exact launch date of Maya’s public offering hinges on how KKR resolves its current internal considerations. He noted that the global investment firm might also opt for a trade sale rather than pushing through with the traditional IPO route.
“Either way, trade sale or IPO, we will support,” he added. “[It] gives us a chance to increase our stake.”
Maya previously weighed a dual-listing strategy—targeting an initial launch in the United States before listing locally in the Philippines later in the year. However, those initial timelines have grown uncertain amidst ongoing domestic and international macroeconomic headwinds.
PLDT currently maintains an approximate 38% stake in Maya and has expressed a strong desire to acquire a larger share to secure deeper control of the platform, strengthening its foothold in the fiercely competitive financial technology landscape. The domestic fintech arena continues to see aggressive rivalry, heavily led by GCash—the mobile wallet giant backed by PLDT’s primary telecom rival, Globe Telecom Inc.
A successful market exit, whether via an IPO or a trade sale, is anticipated to further bolster Maya’s financial returns for PLDT.
In the first quarter, Maya contributed ₱285 million to the telecom giant, representing nearly 40% of PLDT’s total equity earnings of ₱716 million for that period.
Pangilinan clarified that active discussions have not yet touched upon the specific valuation of KKR’s holdings, which account for roughly 30% of Maya.
While PLDT is eager to purchase more shares, any final deal will ultimately depend on KKR’s final valuation and the volume of equity they choose to put up for sale.
This corporate update comes as PLDT posted a 2% drop in its first-quarter net income, slipping to ₱8.87 billion from ₱9.03 billion the previous year, mostly due to an uptick in operating expenses.
Nonetheless, management expects Maya to remain a vital driver for PLDT’s financial health, projecting the digital bank’s full-year contribution to achieve double-digit growth compared to the prior year.