Businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan is moving to secure a majority stake in a major television network in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, Indonesia.
If successful, the acquisition will give Pangilinan-led Associated Broadcasting Corp. (ABC), which operates the TV-5 network, access to a richer supply of content for its radio, television and online platforms.
Pangilinan, in a recent interview with reporters, said his group’s media investment arm, MediaQuest Holdings Inc., would seek to acquire a minority stake in the new broadcast entity that would be formed after the planned merger between Indonesian networks IndosiarKarya Media and Surya Citra TV (SCTV).
The merger between Indosiar—owned by Pangilinan’s principal, Indonesian businessman Anthony Salim—and SCTV will form Indonesia’s second-largest media conglomerate.
“I spoke to Anthony recently about the combined stations. Right now, he holds a minority stake in the company,” Pangilinan said.
“I asked him, ‘Why don’t you just sell your minority stake to [MediaQuest] and let us talk to the other shareholders,’” Pangilinan said, noting that the goal would be to end up with a controlling stake.
He said the final ownership structure of the new Indonesian TV group was yet to be determined. “Anthony still doesn’t know how much he will own,” Pangilinan said.