—has agreed to buy a stake in rival television network TV5 as the company, which once dominated the Philippine media industry until the government forced it off the airwaves two years ago, seeks to revive its business.
Under the deal, ABS-CBN agreed to pay Mediaquest—a unit of Philippine telecommunications giant PLDT’s trust fund—2.2 billion pesos to acquire the 35% stake in TV5, according to a regulatoryThe deal comes two years after ABS-CBN lost its free-to-air franchise. The Philippine Congress started reviewing the company’s application to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise for another 25 years in December 2019, but had not reached a decision by the time the licensethe following year.
ABS-CBN said it will also invest 1.8 billion pesos in convertible notes being issued by TV5. Proceeds from the share sale and note issue will be used by the free-to-air channel to fund capital expenditures and boost content offerings. “This partnership is consistent with the strategic intention of ABS-CBN to evolve into a storytelling company whose goal is to reach as wide an audience as possible,” Carlo Katigbak, president and CEO of ABS-CBN said in a statement.
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