ABS-CBN to sell portion of Quezon City compound to Ayala Land

The company confirmed this in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

On Thursday, February 27, ABS-CBN Corporation reported to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that it has struck a Memorandum of Agreement with Ayala Land, Inc. for the sale of a portion of the network’s ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City.

According to the media company, “The sale, covering 30,000 square meters out of the total 44,027.30 square meters of the property, is subject to certain conditions precedent, including Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) clearance.“

Following the move, ABS-CBN told the PSE that it plans to consolidate its operations in the remaining 1.4 hectare of the property that will be retained by the company.

The selling price was also said to have been worth Php 6.24 billion, inclusive of value-added tax, which will be paid on an installment basis.

Proceeds will be used to the partially settle the corporation’s existing loans.

As per details provided, the plot of land that will be sold to the Ayala group include the historic ABS-CBN Broadcasting Centre, which houses the studios of its popular programs like ‘It’s Showtime’ and ‘TV Patrol,’ radio booth for DWPM Radyo 630, the newsroom, and offices.

Meanwhile, the remaining part of the compound that the Kapamilya network opted to retain is where the ELJ Building, which also includes the studios for ‘ASAP’ and other programs.

It remains to be seen whether the land sold to Ayala Land will be retained or redeveloped.

Opened in 1968, the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Centre was touted as the most-advanced facility in the region during its time.

During the Martial Law era, as the Lopez-owned stations went off the air, the network owned by Roberto Benedicto made use of the facility, using it to produce programs for KBS-9 (later RPN), BBC-2, and IBC-13.

Eventually, the center also became home to the government-owned TV network, the Maharlika Broadcasting System, until the end of the Marcos, Sr. dictatorship in 1986.

The compound also became the location of a crossfire between groups during the height of the EDSA Revolution, during which it was successfully taken over by the pro-democracy group that beamed New TV-4 (now PTV) and gave updates regarding the uprising.

Upon its return in September 1986, ABS-CBN was not yet able to take hold of the entire center, as it shared the facility with PTV-4 until 1992.

Since then, the Broadcasting Centre has been used to film and produce multiple television series, variety shows, and newscasts of the television network.

It also was the location for the booths of defunct Kapamilya AM and FM radio stations, DZMM Radyo Patrol 630 and MOR 101.9.

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