PLDT to buy Sky Cable in Php 7 billion purchase

PLDT will be taking over Sky Cable Corp.’s broadband internet business. The telco giant is paying almost Php 7 billion in a deal that will further increase its market share.

PLDT announced yesterday that it signed a sale and purchase agreement with Sky Vision Corp., ABS-CBN Corp. and Lopez Inc. for the acquisition of Sky Cable’s assets for internet service. The deal will see PLDT obtain 100 percent of Sky Cable’s total issued and outstanding capital stock—around 1.38 billion common shares—for a purchase price of P6.75 billion, or Php 4.9 per share.

The telco will settle Php 6.35 billion, or 94 percent of the transaction cost upon closure of the deal. It will then issue the remaining Php 405 million once tax clearance for the sale and purchase agreement has been released by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

PLDT confirmed that the acquisition will result in the full consolidation of Sky Cable in its financial statements.

“The financial condition of PLDT, including its leverage, is not expected to be significantly affected by the proposed acquisition,” the company stated.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN stated that it expect to receive Php 4 billion in gross process. These will be used to settle various obligations and focus on its core content creation business. (Read: An honest explainer on how technology is changing journalism—as told by actual journalists)

“The proceeds from the sale of the shares of ABS-CBN and the settlement of Sky Vision’s obligations to ABS-CBN will be used by ABS-CBN to settle and fund its retirement obligations,” the company said in a statement. “The sale of the company’s ownership in Sky will also allow ABS-CBN to focus its resources on content creation.”

“This was a strategic decision resulting from, among other things, the significant capital expenditure requirements of Sky Cable to maintain its competitiveness,” it added.

The Lopez-owned Sky Cable lost its right to provide direct-to-home services after parent company ABS-CBN was denied renewal of its franchise in 2020. Following that, Sky Cable turned its attention towards expanding its internet business through its residential service Sky Fiber and enterprise broadband Sky Biz.

Prior to the purchase, Cignal Cable Corp., itself a subsidiary of PLDT’s MediaQuest Holdings Inc., attempted to purchase 38.88 percent of Sky Cable. However, it called off the deal due to mounting political and regulatory pressure against ABS-CBN.

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