Financial advisor named for RPN-9 sale

The government has chosen CLSA Exchange Capital as financial advisor for the privatization of Radio Philippines Network (RPN-9).

The Privatization and Management Office (PMO), an attached agency of the Department of Finance which serves as the disposition and marketing arm for the Privatization Council (PrC), said the selection of CLSA paves the way for the privatization of RPN-9 within the year.

CLSA was chosen from seven groups that participated in the public bidding conducted by PMO on June 27, 2005.

CLSA has extensive media investment banking experience transactions worth over $3 billion since 1999. It has completed a total of nine valuation transactions for media companies, seven of which were broadcast companies.

Its extensive involvement in the international media sector, combined with its intimate knowledge of the Philippine environment, will be crucial in arriving at a meaningful value for RPN-9.

Once the financial advisor is in place, PMO said it has two months within which to submit its valuation report on RPN-9. Thereafter, the company is expected to be auctioned within this year.

Government is bent on privatizing its shareholdings in RPN-9. The company operates six TV stations in six cities, TV relay and translator stations in Baguio and 12 other population centers in the Visayas and Mindanao, and 13 radio stations strategically spread all over the country. – Donnabelle Gatdula