ANOTHER Dennis Uy as a PBA team owner?
The possibility arose after Pampanga billionaire and Converge ICT Solutions founder and CEO Dennis Anthony Uy emerged as the frontrunner in the race to buy Alaska's PBA franchise from Wilfred S. Uytengsu.
Bilyonaryo.com was the first to break the report.
Uy is a namesake of Phoenix Fuel Masters team owner and fellow billionaire Dennis Uy, although the two are not related. The Davao businessman's petrol company bought the PBA franchise of Barako Bull back in 2016.
[See The other Dennis Uy: Who is Dennis Anthony Uy of Converge]
League insiders bared Uy is one of three serious buyers of Alaska's 35-year old franchise who are now in talks with Uytengsu. The others are the camp of Anita Lee Kaw, owner of Family's Brand Sardines, and another businessman engaged in the commodity business, the sources added.
But even before Alaska can confirm negotiations, Converge's bid faces a major roadblock since it's a business rival of the PLDT group that has three teams in the pro league in TNT Tropang GIGA, Meralco and NLEX.
Any sale of a PBA franchise needs a two-thirds vote from the league board [eight votes from the 12 board members]. There is also a lockout provision that gives member teams the right to veto the application of a direct competitor.
The Alaska franchise is valued at more or less P100 million by people with inside knowledge of the negotiations.
The 48-year-old Uy is the nephew of the late Angeles City retail pioneer Johnny Uy, who died almost two years ago.
The elder Uy founded Johnny’s Supermarket, which is considered the oldest store in Angeles City, where his nephew incidentally, worked as a handyman in the cold storage business at the young age of 11 after fleeing Fujian, China.
The younger Uy went on and finished college at the Holy Angel University, where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering in 1992.
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