ABS-CBN raises P500 million from sale of treasury shares

MANILA, Philippines — ABS-CBN Corp. has raised P500 million from the sale of treasury shares and Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to fund its digital initiatives and content production.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, ABS-CBN said it completed a block sale of 21.322 million common shares and 11.507 million PDRs at a price of P15.23 per share.

ABS-CBN said the selling price was determined based on a 12 percent premium over the closing price of the company’s share on Thursday.

It also represents a 19 percent premium over the 30-day volume weighted average price of the common shares.

ABS-CBN intends to use proceeds from the sale to fund its digital initiatives, content production, and other general corporate purposes.

The company’s  board last Thursday approved the sale of 21.322 million of its treasury shares and 27.828 million PDRs to interested qualified institutional buyers at P15.23 per share for a total amount of up to P749 million.

In the event that none of the shares are taken up by the institutional buyers, ABS-CBN said Lopez Inc. is willing to purchase up to P500 million of such shares and PDRs at the same price.

ABS-CBN in June last year entered into a standstill agreement with its existing lenders, providing the media giant a reprieve as it reels from the losses emanating from the denial of its broadcast franchise in 2020.

On May 5, 2020, ABS-CBN was issued a cease and desist order by the National Telecommunications Commission, prohibiting it from continuing broadcast operations.

On June 30 of the same year, ABS-CBN was also issued a cease and desist order for its digital TV transmission in Metro Manila using channel 43.

On July 10, 2020, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises voted to adopt a resolution denying the franchise application of the company.

Since then, the company has been bolstering its digital presence by offering more content online to reach viewers all over the world.

ABS-CBN was able to strike a deal with Zoe Broadcasting in October 2020, enabling some of its shows to return to free TV through A2Z Channel 11.

More ABS-CBN shows made their come back to free TV in January last year through TV5 following the Lopez-led firm’s collaboration with Cignal TV and Brightlight Productions.

In the nine months ending September last year, ABS-CBN was able to reduce its losses by 48.4 percent to P3.78 billion from P7.32 billion in the same period in 2020.