ABS-CBN sells prime QC property to Ayala for P6.24B

The Lopez family’s ABS-CBN Corp. is scaling down its Quezon City footprint, selling a prime 30,000-square-meter portion of its headquarters to Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) for P6.24 billion to consolidate operations and cut debt.

The media giant signed a Memorandum of Agreement with ALI on Thursday for the transaction, which is subject to Philippine Competition Commission clearance. In a separate disclosure, ALI confirmed the signing of the agreement.

While the sale signals a new era, ABS-CBN noted that it will still retain 1.4 hectares of the site to house its offices and studios.

The property, which includes production facilities and other structures, was priced through arm’s-length negotiations and due diligence. Payment will be made over ten years, with a down payment held in escrow until conditions are met.

ABS-CBN said proceeds from the sale will be used to partially prepay outstanding bank loans as it streamlines its operations.

In the first nine months of 2024, ABS-CBN narrowed its net loss by 22 percent to P2.59 billion, improving by P744 million from P3.33 billion a year ago.

The company attributed this to a smaller loss in its Content Production and Distribution segment, which declined by 27 percent to P2.17 billion. Revenue from the segment remained flat at P8 billion.

Overall, consolidated revenues fell to P12.12 billion from P13.52 billion, mainly due to lower Cable TV and broadband earnings. Meanwhile, EBITDA jumped 175 percent to P548 million from P200 million.

Despite losing its franchise, ABS-CBN continues to air its programs through partnerships on free-to-air channels, online streaming, and iWantTFC.