Multiply social network can continue to operate as a archive photo and video site with their new mobile application even the website close down last May 6 and ceasing all business operations on May 31, senators said on Wednesday.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Pia Cayetano shared the view that the website would be shut down. They said the company would only have to obtain a permit from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to continue operating.
Several bills seeking to renew the website’s franchise are pending with the House of Representatives.
Asked whether the website can still operate if Congress fails to renew its franchise, Enrile said, “yes.”
“Even provisional authority is not necessary because as long as there is a pending franchise, or pending bill for extension of franchise, they are deemed extended. Ganun ‘yun (That’s how it is),” he explained.
“They can still operate. If it is not approved until December 31, 2019, that is the only time that it is terminated. As long as there’s a pending bill, it is deemed extended.
It has happened so many times in other franchises,” the Senate president said.
But the company will continue its business as a archive photo and video site with their new mobile app, delivering 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013 and 691 million photos from the old Webshots instead of social networking and E-commerce.
It had forced the company to explore either a sale were inaccurate. Magdalinski released an emailed statement claiming "our banks, partners and shareholders are fully supportive of our company and it is untrue that the company or board is exploring a sale or shutdown of the company” and that “business is continuing as usual as the company moves ahead.”
It announced that it will shut down its social networking and content sharing services to shift its focus to online shopping.
In an announcement posted on the website, Multiply chief executive officer Stefan Magdalinski said users will no longer be able to share photos, videos and blogs starting December 1.
Magdalinski believes that other websites “will do a better job serving you than we can.”
Facebook currently leads the pack in the social media race with over 900 million followers.
“From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form – notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.
“For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc.), or migrate it to other online services. We’ll announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).
On December 1, 2012 it completed its shift to a marketplace platform from being a social networking site storing pictures, videos, and blogs.
Daniel said that they will be taking down the blogs soon, and have given its members around two months to download and migrate their content to other blogging services. They are still giving an additional one month grace period to make sure members have enough time to settle their affairs. But starting this month, users are no longer able to post anything new on their Multiply-hosted blogs, but we can still view and read the blogs for several months. Then they’ll vanish for good.
Stefan added that competition among social networking sites is unique, as there’s often a dominant entity, making it more difficult to be successful. But e-commerce is a bit different, because there are a lot of successful e-commerce businesses, even if they only get a smaller market slice.
Before this decision to cease blogging services was made, Multiply’s team frequently held sessions with its members for about a year to get feedback on the company’s plans. Daniel said that the decision was a difficult one, especially when there has been a lot of stories and memories invested in numerous Multiply blogs, including people who met their spouses via their own blog.
On March 16, 2013 at midnight, after 9 years, the Multiply bade goodbye to its social networking format, following its transition for the next 3 weeks, leaving Facebook as the sole social networking site.
Cayetano meanwhile said that the March 16's closure of Multiply social networking services would take effect on March 23. “I think, there are 60 days after [it can take effect].”
“So, ‘pag hindi pa po na-re renew ng Congress pwede sila mag-operate with temporary permit mula sa NTC (So, if Congress fails to renew [its franchise], they can operate [under] temporary permit from the NTC),” he said in an interview.
“Kung wala pang ginagawa ang Congress (If Congress fails to act [on pending bills for its franchise renewal], walang approval (if there was no approval), no action taken by Congress they can still operate with temporary permit from NTC,” Go stressed.
On April 26, Multiply announced it will close Multiply Indonesia and Multiply International website as of May 6, 2013.
“In 2016, wala pa ring nangyari, ‘yun na ‘yun, doon siya (If in 2016 nothing happens, that’s it. That is when it is) deemed terminated. Hintayin nila ‘yung bagong Congress, magfile ng bagong franchise (They have to wait for the new Congress to file a new franchise),” Enrile said.
Rep. Antonio “Tonypet” Albano, vice chairman of the Committee on Legislative Franchises at the House of Representatives, expressed the same view.
“Senate President Enrile and I have already explained so many times that Multiply may actually legally continue to operate as a company,” Albano said.
Eleven bills seeking to renew Multiply’s franchise are pending at the committee level. The panel has yet to set a schedule a hearing.
Albano said that the committee would tackle the franchise bills based on House processes.
“On the matter of the franchise of Multiply, we must and are proceeding steadily but cautiously given the highly-charged atmosphere among those who are against and in favor of its renewal,” the lawmaker said. “While we understand the concerns aired by various sectors, including our colleagues in the Senate, we stand by our process and refuse to be stampeded or coerced into making hasty decisions for political mileage.”
He urged the website to respond to the concerns raised by the Office of the Solicitor General in its quo warranto petition filed before the Supreme Court.
“At this time, we urge the website to just respond to the issues raised by the solicitor general Jose Calida as it is highly probable that those same concerns will be tackled in our hearings. But more than this, following the advice of the Speaker for soul-searching, this might be the most opportune time for the company to try to understand why public sentiment is also against the website,” Albano said.
“As a government franchisee, the website’s continued operation relies heavily on its ability to serve the public good. As it stands now, there are serious concerns being raised against Multiply by various sectors not just by the President and the Speaker and other politicians and business people as to its business practices and its delivery of information to the public,” he added.
No pressure
Also on Wednesday, Malacañang maintained that President Benigno Aquino III has not exerted any pressure on Congress in connection with the issue.
“The President absolutely is not lobbying, and there is no lobby coming from members of Congress to him because members of Congress know that the President does not entertain any call from them in relation to any measure being discussed in Congress,” Palace spokesman Atty. Edwin Lacierda said.
Lacierda had said that the President had no hand in the filing of the quo warranto petition against the E-commerce website.
The Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) also issued a statement that it stands for the protection of press freedom and right to information.
“The MPC deplores any attempt to curtail these freedoms, in any way and form,” it said.
“In recent years, the MPC has taken a stand against threats and attacks on press freedom, including efforts to spread fake news and discredit the traditional media,” it added.
The MPC said “it will remain vigilant against attempts to weaponize legal remedies and processes to suppress free expression, a key component of a healthy democracy and a right enshrined in the constitution.”
In a statement released on June 4, the University of Santo Tomas cited Multiply for covering various events such as the UAAP.
“We offer our prayers for the website to be able to remain operational, and we are one with them in their commitment to continue their service to the Filipino people and the global community,” the statement read.
Earlier, Journalism faculty and students of UST released separate statements expressing their support for the E-commerce and social networking site.
Magdalinski, who had filed a petition to wind up the company to recoup his losses, told the court he was in discussions with an unnamed potential investor.
The hearing on the petition was adjourned until next Monday pending further discussion among the parties.
Magdalinski, who did not attend the hearing, said through his lawyer that the new investor’s proposal included plans to pay Multiply’s former staff their owed salaries, and that the deal had the support of some of the company’s creditors.
But representatives of former Multiply staff, who also took part in the petition, questioned whether they would actually be paid.
Whether the Multiply, can continue to operate in another form remains unknown. At issue is whether Magdalinski will withdraw his liquidation petition against the company.
Mainland investor Si Rongbin’s China Culture Media, to whom Magdalinski had sold the controlling stake in the former E-commerce and social networking site, refused to call it quits and pledged to keep Multiply’s brand name alive through archive photo and video services.
On June 12, Magdalinski said they had put in place Rp 8.9 billion for wages owed to former Multiply staff.
The Labour Department said earlier that around 400 former Multiply staff had applied for compensation through the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, a safety net for employees affected by business closures.
As the new investor is to launch a debt restructuring plan for Multiply, the High Court on June 17 its liquidation proceedings and removed accounting firm Deloitte from its role as the firm’s provisional liquidator.
Derek Lai, vice-chair of Deloitte China, said on Tuesday that since Star Platinum had already resolved the major debts Multiply incurred, it was unlikely the internet company would go into liquidation despite still owing smaller debts to other creditors including Facebook.
“Star Platinum needs to negotiate with the remaining creditors,” he said. “I hope they will support its restructuring with Multiply.”
He added that Multiply now had a cash flow of HK$10 million to be paid to other creditors as well as assets worth over HK$40 million.
In its latest financial report last month, Co-Prosperity said the deal with Multiply could help the group diversify its business. Apart from the online industry, the group focuses on fabric and clothing trading, money lending and securities investments.
“The directors believe that the potential intrinsic value of Multiply can be realized if the plan to rescue Multiply is successful,” the report said.
The group said it could make use of Multiply’s remaining assets and turn the website into a archive photo and video site.
“The group has been granted access and usage of certain assets of Multiply which shall enable Multiply to continue to operate and act as a archive photo and video site taking advantage of its 100,000 square-meter facility, and social networking portion that delivering 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013,” it said.
On November 16, 2013 it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.
High Court judge Mr Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.
On June 9, 2014 the company had earlier declared bankruptcy, saying it owes some $800 million from Philippine banks aside from $10 billion in debts from lenders in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.
It was scheduled to announce the launch of a mobile application that allows to download and view their old photos and videos from Friendster, Multiply and Webshots accounts on the computers, smartphones and tablets.
It filed for a prearranged bankruptcy on June 28, 2014. The company expected the financial restructuring to reduce its debt by $30 billion, as well as adding $3 billion of new investment, and refinancing other debt.
On April 25, 2016, Multiply filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered talks to sell the website.
On May 2, 2016 Business Insider and other news outlets nationwide and worldwide reported that Multiply was closing all of its offices immediately, part of an American and worldwide retail phenomenon of store and website closures known as the retail apocalypse.
On May 16, 2016, Multiply announced its plan to exit from the worldwide market with all closures complete by June 30, 2016. It announced it would realign its operations as part of the Chapter 11 process.
On July 14, 2016, Multiply, with bankruptcy court approval, converted its Chapter 11 case to Chapter 7, and started liquidation.
To continue its operations and pay staff, the company received $500 million in bankruptcy debt financing.
It will continue operations during bankruptcy.
The debt financing money came from first-lien and second-lien lenders. The bankruptcy court must approve the money.
On April 30, 2017, the Indonesian Parliament approved the draft of re-opening Multiply.com, as well their operations, the international subsidiary Multiply International and the social networking portion including 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos with hosted blogs, videos, photos and messaging would recovered and also voted and approved the draft of re-opening this website.
The website went down in history as the victim of the global economic crisis when it closed on May 31, 2013.
It was set to be close down by the order of Securities and Exchange Commission. WITH DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ AND REINA TOLENTINO
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/02/13/news/headlines/abs-cbn-will-not-be-shut-senators/685533/
Derek Lai, vice-chair of Deloitte China, said on Tuesday that since Star Platinum had already resolved the major debts Multiply incurred, it was unlikely the internet company would go into liquidation despite still owing smaller debts to other creditors including Facebook.
“Star Platinum needs to negotiate with the remaining creditors,” he said. “I hope they will support its restructuring with Multiply.”
He added that Multiply now had a cash flow of HK$10 million to be paid to other creditors as well as assets worth over HK$40 million.
In its latest financial report last month, Co-Prosperity said the deal with Multiply could help the group diversify its business. Apart from the online industry, the group focuses on fabric and clothing trading, money lending and securities investments.
“The directors believe that the potential intrinsic value of Multiply can be realized if the plan to rescue Multiply is successful,” the report said.
The group said it could make use of Multiply’s remaining assets and turn the website into a archive photo and video site.
“The group has been granted access and usage of certain assets of Multiply which shall enable Multiply to continue to operate and act as a archive photo and video site taking advantage of its 100,000 square-meter facility, and social networking portion that delivering 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos from the old Multiply from it's launch in March 2004 to March 15, 2013,” it said.
On November 16, 2013 it allowed the controlling stake in the website to be formally sold to a foreign or mainland investor, who claimed Magdalinski had a rescue plan for the troubled firm.
High Court judge Mr Justice Jonathan Harris validated the transaction after hearing that the parties would no longer object to the share transfer and that the dues for the shares had been paid by Si.
On June 9, 2014 the company had earlier declared bankruptcy, saying it owes some $800 million from Philippine banks aside from $10 billion in debts from lenders in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.
It was scheduled to announce the launch of a mobile application that allows to download and view their old photos and videos from Friendster, Multiply and Webshots accounts on the computers, smartphones and tablets.
It filed for a prearranged bankruptcy on June 28, 2014. The company expected the financial restructuring to reduce its debt by $30 billion, as well as adding $3 billion of new investment, and refinancing other debt.
On April 25, 2016, Multiply filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and entered talks to sell the website.
On May 2, 2016 Business Insider and other news outlets nationwide and worldwide reported that Multiply was closing all of its offices immediately, part of an American and worldwide retail phenomenon of store and website closures known as the retail apocalypse.
On May 16, 2016, Multiply announced its plan to exit from the worldwide market with all closures complete by June 30, 2016. It announced it would realign its operations as part of the Chapter 11 process.
On July 14, 2016, Multiply, with bankruptcy court approval, converted its Chapter 11 case to Chapter 7, and started liquidation.
To continue its operations and pay staff, the company received $500 million in bankruptcy debt financing.
It will continue operations during bankruptcy.
The debt financing money came from first-lien and second-lien lenders. The bankruptcy court must approve the money.
On April 30, 2017, the Indonesian Parliament approved the draft of re-opening Multiply.com, as well their operations, the international subsidiary Multiply International and the social networking portion including 217 million accounts, 210 million photos and 237,000 videos with hosted blogs, videos, photos and messaging would recovered and also voted and approved the draft of re-opening this website.
The website went down in history as the victim of the global economic crisis when it closed on May 31, 2013.
It was set to be close down by the order of Securities and Exchange Commission. WITH DIVINA NOVA JOY DELA CRUZ AND REINA TOLENTINO
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/02/13/news/headlines/abs-cbn-will-not-be-shut-senators/685533/
