Showtime, a satellite pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa, has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for an initial public offering which could value it at up to $2 billion, sources familiar with the matter said. The company is set to be listed at the end of this year, in what is seen by bankers as a further sign of the liberalisation of the media sector in the Middle East.
One source said Showtime, which is joint venture between US media group Viacom and the Kuwait Projects Company (KIPCO), is looking at a valuation of between $1.6 and $2 billion.
The company wants to raise around $400 million and will list on a regional exchange, probably in Bahrain or Dubai, the source said.
The source said, however, that with many months to go until any listing valuations, the amount that may be raised could change.
Viacom, KIPCO, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley declined to comment.
"Now you have satellite dishes which are available to everybody and these digital satellite networks were able to capitalise on this trend," said Raghhed Shanti, a managing director in ABN Amro's middle eastern investment banking operation.
Shanti said that the sector was changing in the Middle East, which had been dominated by state-owned organisations with limited content and news and close scrutiny of content.
"It was a completely open arena for Arab satellite firms and they found a very ready and willing audience."
Arabic TV news channel Al-Jazeera has said it is considering an IPO in the future to finance an ambitious programme of expansion.
Showtime's major competitors include pan-Arab broadcasting television and radio service Orbit and Saudi-owned ART.
The company, which has eight main branches across the Middle East and one in London, offers a range of predominantly Western television programmes and movies serving a rapidly increasing English-speaking Middle Eastern audience.
Showtime may also be looking to take advantage of a buoyant new listing market in the region. IPOs in the Middle East have seen massive demand in recent months as the region's cash-rich investors plough funds into equity, following months of high oil prices.