MBC hires Morgan Stanley, mulls IPO
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 The Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC), one of the largest broadcasting groups in the region, has hired Morgan Stanley to explore the possibilities of launching an initial public offering.
The move was announced by MBC’s chairman, Walid al Ibrahim, as the five-channel network celebrated its fifteenth anniversary in September.
However, the group’s director of marketing, Michel Costandi, cautioned against reading too much into this hiring. “It’s very early – we are exploring many possible directions for our group, and one of them is the IPO,” he told MEB Journal. “We talked to Morgan Stanley and a few other firms, and decided they would be the best ones to advise us. When they’ve done their homework, in six months’ time, we might be able to talk about our plans.”
But that hasn’t kept others from speculating. Jihad Bitar, general manager of Comtrax Solutions, a media consulting group, sees major implications should an IPO go forward. “The big thing in the Arab TV world is that nobody has any numbers. But an IPO would mean MBC would have to say how much money it makes.”
Rumors have circulated for years that some of the big names in the industry, notably MBC, its news rival Al Jazeera, and music network Rotana had plans to go public, but there have been no official statements from the broadcasters themselves. MBC, which broadcasts Al Arabiya, also produces four entertainment channels. Stoking another long-time rumor, Ibrahim also mentioned that his network was “finalizing business plans” for an English-language news channel.
One major incentive for seeking an outside injection of capital may be the competition for premium programming. “There will be a financial war over American movies and series,” said Bitar. “Who’s going to get CSI, Desperate Housewives, and so on.”
“We’re headed towards more transparency,” he added, “and that’s something that we badly need in the Arab media world.”
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