KIPCO eyes sale of OSN
Details
Rebecca Hawkes
| 23 November 2018

Kuwait conglomerate KIPCO is reportedly about to sell its controlling 60.50% stake in Middle East pay-TV operator OSN.

“On 8 August 2018, the Board of Directors of the Parent Company approved initiating an active plan to divest its entire interest in PMGL,” KIPCO said in a statement to Arabian Business.

Saudi investment company Mawarid Group owns the remainder of the pay-TV company, which is operated by Panther Media Group and based in Dubai.

OSN saw a 10% drop in revenue for the third quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.

In its Q3 earnings call, Anuj Rohtagi, director, group financial control at KIPCO said OSN is carrying out a careful review of various revenue opportunities and looking at cost rationalisation initiatives. This includes the El Farq low-cost, no contract offer in Saudi Arabia, which is to be rolled out in other markets across the Arab world.

“As a result of the review, a high double-digit or low triple digit range of savings in content cost is expected in 2019 that will help us build a trajectory of business in next five years,” he said.

In 2013, KIPCO hired Rothschild to evaluate strategic options for its pay-TV business, then valued at US$4.3 billion by Arqaam Capital. An offer of $3.2 billion for OSN was rejected in August of that year.

Since then it has faced renewed competition from Qatar’s beIN Media and the rise of over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Last year it launched its own live TV and on-demand platform Wavo, and in February, OSN agreed the first partnership deal in the region with US streaming giant Netflix , allowing customers to access Netflix content via a new OSN set-top box.