PLDT acquired ABC 5
Posted on October 21st, 2009
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has just acquired a majority stake in the ABC Development Corp. (ABC-5), owner and operator of broadcasting company ABC TV5. The PLDT through its media arm Mediaquest acquired 75% controlling interest in ABC-5.
Ray Espinosa, PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund vice-chairman and Mediaquest director, they are also in talks with owner of the remaining 25% stake in ABC-5. He said the 75% stake acquired will be paid in cash but did not disclose the amount, because the owner is a private individual and therefore there is no duty to disclose.
Mediaquest is wholly owned by the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, the fund entity of the PLDT. Mediaquest is also the major media and content partner for PLDT and Smart Communications.
After acquiring controlling stake in ABC-5, Mediaquest also entered into an agreement to purchase Primedia, a local corporation engaged in developing programming content for television and marketing of airtime, specifically for TV5.
Mediaquest’s acquisition of ABC-5 and Primedia is in line with the company’s strategy of developing media content and production resources to complement its other media assets and platforms such as Cignal, a direct-to-home satellite service which was launched last July.
At present, the local broadcast industry is dominated by ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. (Channel 2) and GMA Network Inc. (Channel 7). But Mediaquest hopes to cut into the share of these two network giants, in fact it said TV5 has already established its position as a strong number three in the Philippine’s televisions industry.
Mediaquest said this is more evident by the rise of its shows, “Talentadong Pilipino†and “Who Wants to be a Millionaire†as the top rating programs for primetime weekends.
