LISTED holding company MRC Allied Inc. said its plan to take over Bitstar Prime Holdings Inc. has been put on hold as the latter was currently in talks with other potential investors.

"Bitstar Prime requested to hold in abeyance the subscription transaction with MRC to allow the former to accommodate the requirements of other interested investors," MRC said in a filing on Monday.

MRC earlier said it would subscribe to up to 75 million Bitstar common shares, with a par value of P1 per share. The transaction was supposed to be closed before January 30 via the execution of a subscription agreement.

Both later mutually decided to extend talks regarding the terms and conditions, and execute the agreement within a period of 30 days from January 31.

The transaction was supposed to give MRC controlling ownership of Bitstar, which the former would then use as a corporate vehicle for acquiring telecommunication and broadband assets.

The investment in Bitstar was said to be aligned with MRC's business strategy to "become a significant player in the fast-growing information and communications technology (ICT) industry in the country."

"In the meantime, MRC and Bitstar Prime are discussing other strategies for business cooperation in relation to the latter's ICT projects," the listed firm said.

It also assured the stock exchange that "any subsequent developments" regarding the transaction would be disclosed.

MRC is currently involved in real estate, mining and renewable energy sectors through its wholly owned subsidiaries: Menlo Renewable Energy Corp., MRC Tampakan Mining Corp., MRC Surigao Mines Inc. and Makrubber Corp.

MRC Allied shares closed up 1.67 percent at P1.22 each on Tuesday.

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