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Philstar Media Group

Philstar Media Group

The Philstar Media Group is the umbrella term for the prominent and influential media companies (Philstar Daily, Inc., Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc., and PhilStar Global Corporation) under the Philstar brand in the Philippines. It is mainly composed of the two companies PhilStar Daily, Inc. and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. They are under the control of the Belmonte family, as well as Manuel V. Pangilinan through the media conglomerate MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.

From the tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon followed by the flagship broadsheet The Philippine STAR, both established in 1986 by the Belmonte family matriarch, Betty Go-Belmonte, it has grown into a multimedia enterprise through the leadership and influence of her children, Miguel and Kevin, who have continued her legacy in news publishing.

From its two pioneering publications, the Philstar Media Group now includes BusinessWorld, The Freeman, Pang-Masa, Banat, People Asia, and online platforms, Philstar.com and Interaksyon.

In 2009 significant shares in the papers were acquired by MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., chaired by business tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan. Over time, MediaQuest Holdings, through its subsidiary Hastings Holdings, Inc. took control of the Philstar Media Group.

Today, the PhilStar Media Group operates under Hastings Holdings, managing three companies: Philstar Daily Inc., PhilStar Global Corporation, and Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc.

Despite this change in ownership, the Belmonte family retains management and editorial control over the group.

PhilStar Daily, Inc. is the publisher of the broadsheet The Philippine STAR. Based on the company’s General Information Sheet (GIS), PhilStar Daily, Inc. is majority-owned by Hastings Holdings, with a 50.998 percent stake. The Belmonte family retained a 20 percent stake, with Feliciano Belmonte owning 4.8 percent, and his children Miguel, Isaac, Kevin, and Joy each with a 3.8 percent stake.

Philstar Daily’s subsidiary, PhilStar Global Corporation, runs Philstar’s online platforms, Philstar.com and Interaksyon. According to the company’s GIS, Philstar Global is owned by three companies: Hastings Holdings, Philstar Daily, Inc., and Azurra Prime Ventures, Inc.

Aside from the broadsheet and online website, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. handles STAR’s tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon and Pang-Masa, STAR’s business newspaper BusinessWorld, regional newspapers, The Freeman and Banat News. Just like the other Philstar companies, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. is majority-owned by Hastings Holdings with 80% shares, while the Belmonte family retains 20%.

As part of their management roles, Belmonte brothers Miguel and Kevin serve as the Chairman of the Board of Directors in the three Philstar companies. The two brothers sustained the success and influence of Philstar, contributing to the vibrant tapestry of the Philippine media landscape in shaping public opinion and fostering civic engagement.

Key facts

Mother Company

MediaQuest Holdings, Inc.

Business Form

Private

Legal Form

Stock Corporation

Ownership

Individual Owner

Manuel “Manny” V. Pangilinan

Pangilinan is the individual known to exercise control over this media empire although that does not happen through ownership of shares.

The majority shareholder of the companies Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. and PhilStar Daily, Inc. for which Philstar Media Group is the umbrella term is MediaQuest through Hastings Holdings.

Hastings Holdings, Inc. owns 80% in Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. and 50.998% of Philippine Star Daily, Inc.

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Media Outlets
Other Media Outlets

Other Print Outlets

The Philippine Star (3.03%)

Other Online Outlets

philstar.com (13.8%

Facts

General Information

Founding Year

1986

Affiliated Interests Founder

Betty Go-Belmonte

is the Belmonte family’s matriarch that currently controls and operates the STAR Group of Publications. She was one of three journalists who established the broadsheet The Philippine STAR during the EDSA People Revolution. Before founding the broadsheet, her family (the Gos) had already been in the newspaper business.

Employees

Missing Data

Contact

21/F Marajo Tower, 26th West cor. 4th AvenueBonifacio Global City, Taguig

Tax/ ID Number

Missing Data

Financial Information

Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)

Missing Data

Operating Profit (in Mill. $)

Missing Data

Advertising (in % of total funding)

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Management

Executive Board

Miguel Belmonte

is the President of Hastings Holdings, Inc. He also sits as the president and CEO of The Philippine STAR. He is the third son of the broadsheet’s founder Betty Go-Belmonte. After taking the lead in 1998, Miguel grew his mother’s company exponentially, both in terms of size and influence. Now, the PhilStar Media Group is a multimedia enterprise that includes People Asia, BusinessWorld, The Freeman, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Pang-Masa, Banat, and InterAksyon.

Non-Executive Board

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Supervisory Board

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