Pay-TV Operator OSN Has “No Current Plans” To List Shares – CEO

Middle Eastern pay-television operator OSN has “no current plans” for a stock market flotation, its chief executive said on Sunday, following comments from its parent company that an initial share sale was expected to happen this year.

OSN has operations across the Middle East and North Africa and annual revenue currently around $700 million. Last year, brokerage Arqaam Capital valued the company at $4.3 billion.

Kuwait Projects Co (KIPCO) owns 60.5 per cent of OSN and in March KIPCO deputy chairman of Kuwait Faisal al-Ayyar said it planned to start the process for an initial public offering (IPO) of OSN shares “within weeks”, with London targeted for a flotation by the end of 2014.

But CEO David Butorac told reporters at a company event in Dubai on Sunday that an IPO was not imminent.

“The shareholders are looking at the options that they have for the future and one of those is to approach the equity markets. But, as it stands today, we have no active plans or timetable,” Butorac said.

“We’re generating significant free cash and so there are no current funding needs for the company.”

He said London was one of many places Dubai-based OSN where would consider listing, also naming Nasdaq and “the local markets” as other possibilities.

KIPCO is Kuwait’s largest listed investment firm with interests in media, industrials, banking and real estate.