Mon, 20 May 2013 12:20 PM (HKT)

Asian pay-TV groups seek IPO funds

Asian pay-TV groups seek IPO funds

By Patrick Frater

Mon, 09 July 2012, 17:15 PM (HKT)

Corporate News

Shares in MNC Sky Vision, Indonesia's largest pay-TV group, crept ahead in their first dealings on the Jakarta Stock Exchange following their initial public offering. Malaysian equivalent Astro All Asia Networks could be next to IPO.

Pay-TV operators are among the biggest consumers of film content. Astro is owner of Hong Kong-based Celestial Pictures and Malaysian producer-distributor Astro Shaw.

MNC Sky Vision's shares were offered to subscribers at Rup1,520 and by mid-afternoon today had advanced to Rup1,540.

The company, still controlled by PT Global Mediacom (BMTR), Indonesia's largest media company owned by media mogul Hary Tanoesoedibjo, sold a mixture of existing and new shares equivalent to 20% of its enlarged share capital and raised some $226 million. US-Asian media investor Saban Capital Group is an anchor investor in the share sale and is expected to have 3.5% of the enlarged company.

At the sale price MNC Sky Vision is valued at some $1.16 billion. The new cash will largely go towards debt repayment and some infrastructure improvement.

After a long gestation pay-TV is suddenly beginning to take off in Indonesia. MNC Sky Vision, which operates under the Indovision, Top TV and Okevision brands, had 1.35 million subscribers at the end of May for a market share of over 70%. It has forecast that its subscribers will increase to 1.7 million this year and as much as 2.5 million next year.

Finance industry sources report that Astro has appointed a multinational selection of bankers including CIMB, JP Morgan and Credit Suisse to head a flotation that could come as soon as mid-September.

The company, which is jointly owned by billionaire Ananda Krishnan and Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah, is the dominant player in Malaysian pay-TV. It also operates eight terrestrial radio stations.

The company, which withdrew from the stock market as recently as June 2010, is understood to be seeking to raise $1 billion — $1.5 billion and enjoy a market capitalisation of over $4.5 billion.