PLDT Inc. and ABS-CBN Corp. agreed to terminate a P6.75- billion deal for the sale of ABS-CBN subsidiary Sky Cable Corp.’s broadband business and related assets to PLDT, just a month after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) approved the deal.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, PLDT and ABS-CBN said they have mutually decided not to proceed with the sale of Sky Cable to PLDT under the sale and purchase agreement signed by and among the parties in March 2023.
The sale and purchase agreement involves ABS-CBN’s interests, directly or indirectly representing 58.7 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Sky Cable for P4 billion.
All the other stockholders of Sky Cable, Lopez Inc. and Sky Vision Corp., also agreed to sell their shares in Sky to PLDT, with the total purchase price to be paid by PLDT for all the issued and outstanding capital stock of Sky Cable at P6.75 billion.
To recall, the two firms’ deal was halted by the PCC in 2020 and 2022. It was only last January 19 that the anti-trust body approved the deal with closing conditions which included, among others, the termination or cessation of Sky’s pay TV and cable businesses.
After the approval, Sky informed its cable TV subscribers of the scheduled shutdown of its cable television before the end of this month.
Following the termination of the deal, Sky announced its cable TV service will continue, assuring its subscribers they can maintain their subscriptions.
“Don’t cut the cord just yet, Sky Kapamilyas! Sky Cable subscribers do not need to end their cable TV subscriptions or switch to other providers.We wish to notify our subscribers that the proposed acquisition of SKY by PLDT will no longer proceed,” the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the company said its internet broadband service, SKYFiber, remains unaffected.
With Sky Cable unable to provide direct-to-home (DTH) service following the lapse of its franchise, the company continued to focus on growing its broadband subscriber base.
Following this direction, Sky Cable generated revenues of P5.4 billion despite the absence of DTH services.
