Now Corp., a listed company controlled by the Velarde family, said it is accelerating the expansion of its broadband footprint in areas outside Manila after securing approval from Securities and Exchange Commission to wipe up its deficit.
The SEC approved Now’s application to reduce its authorized capital stock through a lowering of the par value per share.
The conversion of certain debts to equity would erase the company’s deficit of P402.1 million as of last year by reducing its surplus of P455 million.
The company also has a pending application filed with the SEC to convert outstanding shareholders’ advances of P264 million into equity.
The two corporate actions will substantially strengthen the company’s financial condition.
“The elimination of its deficit removes a major obstacle to fund raising,” Now said.
Meanwhile, the conversion of advances to equity, once approved, will improve the debt-to-equity ratio from 0.70:1 to 0.37:1.