The struggling On Digital Media (ODM) running the TopTV pay-TV platform in South Africa which is currently in business rescue and and is urgently looking for cash, aims to publish a business rescue plan by the end of March.
About R1,4 billion has been sunk into the Woodmead based pay-TV business which launched its commercial service almost three years ago in May 2010.
Since then ODM has become "financially distressed" and its major shareholders, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and The National Empowerment Fund (NEF) are no longer prepared to inject any further funding into ODM.
Neither were prepared to extend a bridging fascility to ODM to enable it to operate within the "protective bubble" of business rescue as the pay-TV operator tries to restructure itself and attempt to prevent liquidation.
During December 2012 ODM's business rescue practitioner, Peter van den Steen, was approached by three separate interested parties who expressed interest in acquiring an equity interest in ODM since the company entered business rescue under the Companies Act at the end of October 2012. One withdrew in January.
In February one of the parties sent a written formal offer, and Peter van den Steen received another two expressions of interest. TopTV's aim is now to publish a business rescue plan based on offer(s) received from successful bidder(s) by the end of March.
According to TopTV which is currently being led by the interim CEO Eddie Mbalo, discussions are "at an advanced stage" with an announcement which would be made soon.
This past Thursday at TopTV's public hearing before South Africa's broadcasting regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to start a separate porn bouquet of channels, ODM told Icasa that it now has 250 direct employees.
