Businessman Ramon Ang’s bid to acquire a minority stake in GMA Network Inc. is in limbo, as the majority owners of the broadcast network started talking to a new investor.
25 percent from the P326-million profit it recorded in the same period last year. Shown
during a news briefing are (from left) GMA Network executive vice president and chief
finance officer Felipe Yalong, president and chief operating officer Gilberto Duavit Jr.
and chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon. MANNY PALMERO
“At this point, our attitude is ‘wait and see.’ The ball is now in his [Ang’s] court,” GMA chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon said in a news briefing, when asked about the update on Ang’s investment in the network.
“Since, I’m no longer sure, it depends now on the new suitor whether they would like to court us or not,” Gozon said.
Gozon clarified there was no fixed deadline on the closure of the transaction with Ang, “but it should be done within a reasonable period which is not defined.”
Ang offered to acquire at least 30 percent of GMA for P10.80 per share. The Gozon, Duavit and Jimenez families own a combined 79 percent of the network. Ang’s offer was higher than the P9 billion offered by the PLDT Group.
Gozon said he had recent talks with a new prospective investor he declined to identify.
When asked if the talks with the PLDT Group of Manuel Pangilinan could be revived, Gozon said, “anything is possible.”
The PLDT Group and GMA ended a third round of talks for a 34-percent stake in the broadcast company in February 2014. The talks fell through because of disagreement over regulatory risk-sharing.
Meanwhile, Gozon said the company would continue its manpower reduction program. “One thing that we don’t want is to be over staffed. We have to maintain a lean organization. In regional office, [it is finished], but there would be more employees to be laid off in the main office,” Gozon said.
He said the company decided to cut workforce in regional offices because “the ratings and revenues are low.”
The network reported a net income of P408 million in the January to March period this year, or 25 percent higher than P326 million recorded in the same period last year.
“Our performance in the first quarter is a good indication that 2015 will be a much better year for our company. We are hoping to sustain this momentum throughout the year,” Gozon said.
Revenues amounted to P3.006 billion in the first quarter, up from P2.85 billion year-on-year. Airtime revenues grew 7 percent to P2.71 billion, while subscription and others fell 5 percent to P294 million.
Expenses rose 3 percent to P2.43 billion, due to the increase in production cost as the network continued to strengthen its programming content.