NCA unaware of TV3 sale

The National Communications Authority (NCA), Ghana’s telecoms regulator and allocator of frequencies says, it is not aware that one of Ghana’s private TV stations TV3 is being put up for sale.

The Malaysian owners of the TV station Media Prima Bhd are selling 90% shares in the Ghana subsidiary.

However, a source at the NCA has told ghanabusinessnews.com that, the decision to sell the station has not come to the regulator’s notice.

According to the source, the NCA which is the regulator of the frequency that the station is operating on needs to be informed if it the station wants to change ownership.

“As I speak to you no such information about the sale of the station has come onto the NCA’s table”, the source said.

The source also added that the NCA can not determine who the new owners of the station should be, but it needs to know who the new buyers are, since they will use the frequency.

According to Media Prima Bhd group which owns TV3, under its Ghana subsidiary, Gama Media International (BVI), it is selling to Media General Ltd, an investment holding company in Ghana. The sale deal it said is near completion awaiting approval from Ghanaian authorities.

“We hope to complete the disposal by third quarter of this year because we need to obtain approval from the local authority in Ghana”, Datuk Amrin Awaluddin, Media Prima Managing Director was reported to have said by the Malaysian media.

Early January this year, news reports from Malaysia said owners of GAMA Media, the Ghana subsidiary and managers of TV3 Ghana had entered into a sale purchase agreement to divest 90% equity interest in TV3 to Media General Ghana Ltd., for RM8.63 million (Malaysian Ringgits), which is approximately $2.8 million.

Media Prima said in its filing to the Bursa Malaysia, an exchange holding company which operates a fully integrated exchange that the divestment was in line with the group’s strategy to focus on domestic operations.

Meanwhile, in December 2009 Media Prima indicated that it was looking for other options apart from an earlier announced proposal for an initial pubic offer (IPO) on the Ghana Stock Exchange to raise additional capital.
Media Prima said then that it was looking for the options to raise funds as a result of what it described as “unfavourable market conditions.”

The company said it needed the money to expand its operations in Ghana, replace obsolete equipment and train staff to do better programmes.

By Ekow Quandzie