Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) announced Monday that it has canceled two agreements worth $50 million with ProtoStar Ltd., a Bermuda-based satellite operator.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT said its subsidiary Mabuhay Satellite Corp. has terminated a wholesale transponder lease agreement with ProtoStar Ltd. and unit ProtoStar III Ltd., citing "non-fulfillment of certain closing conditions." The deal was supposed to give Mabuhay $22.5 million worth of ProtoStar's Series C preferred shares as consideration for the wholesale lease.

"Mabuhay, ProtoStar, and ProtoStar III are nonetheless in continued discussions to determine and arrive at the appropriate operating agreements to govern the collaboration between Mabuhay and ProtoStar in various areas such as marketing and sales," PLDT said.

At the same time, PLDT said it is not exercising its option to subscribe to $27.5 million worth of ProtoStar's Series C preferred shares.

"However, the agreement for space segment services for the use of C-band transponders on the ProtoStar I satellite from 2011 to 2017 remains effective," PLDT said. The Pangilinan-led firm entered into both agreements in September last year.

ProtoStar I was launched in July last year from Kourou, French Guiana. It has on board 22 Ku-band transponders and 38 C-band transponders.

Mabuhay is the first and only Philippine satellite operator that launched Agila 2, a communications satellite located at the 146° East Orbital slot in August 1997. The company offers video, Internet protocol, and telecommunications solutions for clients in Asia and North America.