Tuesday, Feb 20, 2007
BEIRUT (Zawya Dow Jones)--Amman-based Jordan United TV Broadcasting Company, which operates the ATV station, will double its paid-up capital to 50 million Jordanian dinars ($70.5 million) from JOD25 million followed by an initial public offering for up to 60% of the firm, the company's chairman said Tuesday.
"We are Jordan's first privately owned terrestrial and satellite TV station and we have converted, two weeks ago, into a public shareholding company to offer a private placement and then an IPO for only Jordanian citizens," Mohammed Alayyan told Zawya Dow Jones in a telephone interview from London.
For its capital increase, ATV will seek to attract local investors and then determine the exact scope of its IPO, he said.
The upstart broadcaster ATV has been airing pilot programs and is scheduled to commence full operations after eight weeks.
"We will announce in this week the financial consultant which will take care of the private placement and the IPO," Alayyan said.
He added that ATV will choose its financial consultant among the three banks that it currently conducts its financial activities with.
The three banks are Amman-based Capital Bank, National Bank of Kuwait and Jordan Kuwait Bank.
Alayyan said ATV presented its documents to the Jordan Securities Commission few weeks ago for a listing on the Amman Stock Exchange in expectation that the firm can complete its private placement and launch its IPO within the next three months.
The company, which was established as a limited liability firm in 2004, is wholly owned by Alayyan.
-By Nadim Issa, Zawya Dow Jones, +961 1 985757, nadim@zawya.com
Copyright (c) 2007 ABQ Zawya Ltd.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
20-02-07 1300GMT
