ABS-CBN to merge int’l operations for Singapore IPO

Broadcast giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. will integrate its international operations into a holding unit to be later groomed for an initial public offering (IPO) abroad, top company officials said.

ABS-CBN chairman and CEO Eugenio Lopez III told reporters that the spin-off company, called ABS-CBN Global Holdings Inc., will pool together its satellite operations in North America, Middle East, Europe, Japan and Australia.

The new unit, in turn, will bank on the steady performance of ABS-CBN’s international exposure to attract investors in a planned public offering within the next 18 months. Lopez said they plan to offer as much as 40 percent of the new company for listing at the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Lopez said they would use the proceeds of the IPO for the possible acquisition of more TV stations in the regions as well to fund its direct-to-home (DTH) cable infrastructure in Europe.

Aside from the California-based ABS-CBN International, which is into cable and satellite operations, ABS-CBN also has services-oriented subsidiaries based in Hong Kong and Italy. With the consolidation of these foreign-based companies, an estimated P1-billion worth of assets will be integrated in ABS-CBN Global.

Last year, ABS-CBN International turned in the bulk, or 63 percent, of the group’s net sales and services of P2.41 billion, generating net sales of P1.51 billion for a robust 18 percent increase from the previous year.

By end-2001, ABS-CBN International had a total of over 90,000 cable and DTH subscribers in North America and than 131,000 worldwide. Through the bundling of services, it expanded its product offerings to include music, videos and publications.