ABS-CBN Corp. unit Sky Cable Corp. has committed to assist its cable subscribers in their transition to a new service provider, once the P6.75 billion deal with PLDT Inc. gets regulatory approval.
Last Thursday, PLDT and ABS-CBN have secured approval for the former’s acquisition of Sky’s broadband business.
The closing of the proposed transaction is subject to compliance with certain conditions which include termination or cessation of the operation of Sky’s pay TV and cable business.
With this, Sky issued an advisory to its subscribers which assured that its broadband and cable TV service will continue until the deal with PLDT is closed.
“Once approvals are obtained, SKYcable is committed to assisting all its cable TV subscribers to ensure a transition to their preferred service,” it added
ABS-CBN’s board approved the sale of its interests in the company, directly or indirectly representing 58.7 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Sky Cable.
The total gross proceeds to be received by ABS-CBN from the sale of shares is approximately P4 billion.
All the other stockholders of Sky Cable, Lopez Inc. and Sky Vision Corp., also agreed to sell their shares in Sky Cable to PLDT.
The total purchase price to be paid by PLDT for all the issued and outstanding capital stock of Sky Cable is P6.75 billion.
Once the deal is completed, ABS-CBN is expected to focus on the expansion of its content and distribution business which reported a 28 percent to P8.2 billion growth in operating revenue in the first nine months of 2022 from P6.39 billion in the same period of 2021.
ABS-CBN is also focusing on growing its digital initiatives led by its own over the top platform, iWantTFC. These initiatives helped the company generate P4.9 billion in advertising revenues in the nine-month period of 2022 as well as diversify its revenue streams.
Meanwhile, Sky Cable’s revenues stood at P6.1 billion in the first nine months of 2022, despite the absence of direct to home services, following the lapse of its franchise in 2020.
To recall, PLDT and ABS-CBN’s deal for the acquisition of Sky’s cable business has been halted by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) in 2020 and 2022.
In a statement, PCC said previous acquisition plans involving PLDT and Sky Cable have been rescinded in 2020 and 2022 for various reasons, including PLDT’s own assessment then of possible overlaps with Sky in their products and services.
As market conditions and the modality of the transaction may have changed since then, the PCC remains open to notification consultation with parties to ensure proper and timely review of transactions.
The competition authority’s mandate is to evaluate the effect of acquisitions in relevant markets and their effects on consumers, such as whether the transaction will result in fewer choices and lesser competition.
