www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Smart Communications, the mobile arm of Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT), is planning to launch a month-long tender offer – commencing 1 July – to buy out minority shareholders of its 92.87%-owned subsidiary Pilipino Telephone Corp (Piltel).

Earlier, Smart said it was looking to mop up 839.38 million Piltel shares at PHP8.50 per share, making the tender worth a total of PHP7.14 billion (USD147.5 million). In 2009, March the board of Smart Communications decided to transform the telecoms company into an investment holding company, whose principal asset is a 20% stake in the nation’s largest power distribution company, Manila Electric Company.