Prime Media Holdings, Inc. (PMHI, commonly known as Prime Media) is a Philippine

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

holding company based in Makati. Originally founded on February 6, 1963 as a

development bank A development financial institution (DFI), also known as a development bank or development finance company (DFC), is a financial institution that provides risk capital for economic development projects on a non-commercial basis. , total commitme ...

, the company has been changed to its current status since 2003. It is majority controlled by RYM Business Management Corporation, a business holding company associated with the Romualdez clan.

History

Early years

The company traced its origins on February 6, 1963 as the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines (PDCP), later renamed to PDCP Development Bank, Inc. (PDCP Bank) the same year. Metro Pacific Corporation (later renamed Neo Oracle) acquired the company in 1992 and renamed as First e-Bank Corporation (1st e-Bank) in 2000, while the Bank of Commerce bought a stake in 2002. However, in October of the same year, BDO Unibank acquired the operations of 1st e-Bank including its Smart Money Mastercard debit card issuer (which is a partnership with

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart (and officially stylized/ self-styled as SMART), is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provid ...

until 2017). On October 20, 2003, First e-Bank Corporation was renamed as Prime Media Holdings after selling its namesake business to BDO Unibank, leaving the company became

dormant Dormant, "sleeping", may refer to: Science *Dormancy Dormancy is a period in an organism's life cycle when growth, development, and (in animals) physical activity are temporarily stopped. This minimizes metabolic activity and therefore helps ...

as it shifts to a holding investment.

Under new ownership

In 2013, RYM Business Management Corporation, owned by the family of politician Martin Romualdez, acquired the majority stake in Prime Media from Neo Oracle. In May 2021, Prime Media Holdings signed a share-for-share swap agreement with

Philippine Collective Media Corporation Philippine Collective Media Corporation (PCMC; officially known in their documents as Philippine CollectiveMedia Corporation) is a Philippine broadcast media company. Its headquarters are located in Makati, with offices in Fairview, Quezon Ci ...

(PCMC), also owned by the Romualdez, through a

backdoor listing A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compa ...

. Under the deal, PCMC shareholders will exchange their shares of common stock to take majority control of PRIM, which will acquire PCMC and will become the latter's subsidiary. On May 23, 2023, Prime Media announced a joint venture agreement with ABS-CBN Corporation. The new venture company will produce and supply various programs including news content to broadcasters and third-party entities, including PCMC. Along with it are plans to operate a radio station on ABS-CBN's former frequency 630 KHz (previously known as DZMM), and managing the Filipino-language cable news channel TeleRadyo (which was originally intended to cease its broadcast on June 30, but was abruptly cancelled and reduced to closing out most of its old concurrent programs instead). On June 26, 2023, 630 kHz conducted a test broadcast under the

DWPM DWPM (630 AM), broadcasting as Radyo 630, is a radio station owned by Baycomms Broadcasting Corporation and operated by Media Serbisyo Production Corporation, a joint venture between Prime Media Holdings (through subsidiary Philippine Collecti ...

callsign. The station and its TV counterpart had its soft launch on June 30 as Radyo 630 and TeleRadyo Serbisyo respectively and officially launched on July 17.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.primemediaholdingsinc.com Mass media companies of the Philippines Mass media companies established in 1963 Philippine companies established in 1963 Companies based in Makati Holding companies of the Philippines Holding companies established in 1963 Companies listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange 1963 establishments in the Philippines