PLDT's Acquisition of Sky Cable Gets Regulator's Green Light
PLDT is set to officially purchase ABS-CBN’s Sky Cable after the Philippine Competition Commission gave the green light for the acquisition on Friday (January 19).
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Monday (January 22), ABS-CBN said the PCC is allowing the sale of 100 percent of Sky’s total issued and outstanding capital stock “subject to a number of closing conditions.” The telco giant actually announced the purchase in March 2023.
SkyCable, the cable arm of the Lopezes, was founded in 1990 and has become one of the country’s leading cable providers. It also offers broadband and satellite TV services.
Reports of PLDT’s planned acquisition of the Lopez-owned cable and broadband business first surfaced in September 2020. Back then, PLDT, which also owns rival satellite TV provider Cignal TV, said it was only “evaluating options” related to Sky Cable but stopped short of confirming the transaction.
ALSO READ
Is PLDT Acquiring Rival Sky Cable? MVP Group Says it is ‘Evaluating Options’
PLDT's President and CEO Is Retiring After Two and Half Years on the Job
ABS-CBN, for its part, denied that it was ready to divest from its Sky Cable business. This was soon after the network was ordered shut down by the National Telecommunications Commission for failing to renew its broadcast license.
Nevertheless, negotiations for the transaction continued for the next three years. In 2022, PLDT rescinded its acquisition offer after finding that its own products and services under Cignal overlapped with those offered by Sky Cable.
However, in March 2023, PLDT announced that it had struck a deal to fully acquire Sky Cable for P6.8 billion pending the approval of the PCC. The sale and purchase agreement covers 100 percent of Sky Cable’s total issued and outstanding capital stock consisting of around 1.38 billion common shares. The Manny Pangilinan-controlled telco said the purchase would strengthen both companies coverage and services, particularly in remote areas.
For ABS-CBN’s part, the sale of Sky Cable was expected to generate P4 billion in gross proceeds, which the Lopez-owned network said would allow it to focus on content creation.
“This was a strategic decision resulting from, among other things, the significant capital expenditure requirements of Sky Cable to maintain its competitiveness,” the company said.
ABS-CBN was forced to pivot from its main broadcast business following its failure to renew its broadcast license, launching online-based channels for its news and entertainment content. It also signed partnership agreements with free-to-air channels such as Zoe Broadcasting’s A2Z channel, TV5, and even its erstwhile rival GMA Network. The network also doubled down on content sales and licensing to its domestic and international clients.
In the first nine months of 2023, ABS-CBN reported a net loss of P3.3 billion, up from P1.87 billion net loss in the same period last in 2022.
