ePLDT has bought a majority stake in Philippine game publisher Level-Up! Philippines, an official confirmed with INQ7.net. "Yes we have bought 60 percent of the company," said Ray Espinosa, president and chief executive officer of ePLDT, information and communications technology arm of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. with its own gaming outfit, Netgames. Espinosa said that Level-Up! Philippines will be merged with Netgames. The ePLDT executive declined to disclose the value the buyout but he indicated this was part of the company's strategy to bring more content to its subscribers. "Level-Up! and Netgames will be merged by next year and will be called Level-Up!-Netgames. ePLDT will own at least 60 percent of the merged entity," the executive added. Espinosa said that the current management of Level-Up! Philippines will remain. "We will work with existing people," he said. "We will combine resources and technical capabilities, and marketing and distribution. This is not motivated by [talk on licensing] the World of Warcraft online game," he added. Level-Up! game boss Ben Colayco declined to comment. However, another Level-Up! official confirmed the buyout. "They just had a company announcement," the official added. Level-Up! Philippines is the biggest online game publisher in the country, running the popular Philippine online game Ragnarok. INQ7.net reported on a joint venture between ePLDT subsidiary Netgames and Level-Up! Philippines last year. INQ7.net