Television giant GMA Network, Inc. will not be sold to MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., a unit of the Pangilinan-led Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), separate statements from both firms showed.
GMA and PLDT on Thursday announced the termination of "recent discussions with respect to a possible acquisition of controlling interests in GMA by MediaQuest and its affiliate within the PLDT Group."
"The parties have been unable to arrive at mutually acceptable terms despite continual discussions and efforts exerted in good faith," the firms said.
The unresolved issues "had nothing to do with the price," however, GMA Chairman and Chief Executive Felipe Gozon said in a separate statement emailed to media.
"If there is a serious offer in the future, then we are willing to consider," he added.
This, even as PLDT Chairman Manuel "Manny" Pangilinan earlier expressed readiness to seal the deal with GMA ahead of a deadline set by the media outfit.
PLDT has also began looking for banks that are willing to fund the acquisition, reports quoted Pangilinan as saying in August.
Gozon had also earlier confirmed the three major shareholders of the broadcast network, the Gozons, Duavits, and Jimenezes, are selling their stake, which comprise 79 percent of GMA.
The success of any deal will be dependent "on the price," however, Gozon was quoted as saying, adding that MediaQuest was the sole party in talks with GMA for an acquisition agreement.
The scrapped deal is the MediaQuest's second attempt at buying GMA-7, following botched negotiations in 2001.
Twelve people were killed in the Philippines on Saturday as troops clashed with a militant group blamed for the country's deadliest terror attacks, the military said.
