Want Want Group (旺旺集團), the conglomerate with businesses from broadcasting to food, said it’s leading an investment group that agreed to buy cable TV operator China Network Systems Co (中嘉網路) from MBK Partners Ltd.
Chao Yu-pei, special assistant to Want Want’s president, said the group signed the agreement on Monday, but declined to provide financial details.
The investors agreed to buy closely held China Network’s stock for about US$1.4 billion and assume US$1 billion of debt, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified because the accord is confidential.
The purchase would allow Want Want chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明) to expand his media assets in a market where almost 80 percent of homes tune in to cable TV. For MBK, the sale would help the private equity fund, founded by former Carlyle Group executives, collect more than double the US$600 million it spent buying China Network’s stock more than three years ago.
“If Want Want has media outlets covering the entire Greater China, companies who want to buy advertisements can do it cost effectively,” said Monika Yang, who helps oversee almost US$2 billion at Hamon Asset Management Ltd in Hong Kong. “They are already very successful in the consumer front.”
Want Want outbid Permira Advisers LLP, which teamed up with Ruentex Group (潤泰集團), Macquarie Group Ltd and Bain Capital LLC, the person said. Choosing a Taiwanese buyer will help obtain regulatory approval, the person said.
The sale comes as Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠) and Richard Tsai (蔡明興) — no relation to Tsai Eng-meng — seek to approval to buy Kbro Co (凱擘), the nation’s top cable TV operator, from Carlyle Group.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) said on Oct. 6 it would seek public and expert opinion before deciding whether to approve the purchase of Kbro.
MBK, which bought China Network with the Koo family, effectively controls the cable TV operator through a preference-share arrangement with the local partner, people familiar with the plan said in August.
China Network had 1.05 million subscribers at the end of last year, giving it a 21 percent market share of Taiwan’s cable TV market, while Kbro had a 22 percent share with 1.11 million customers, the NCC said in a July report.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS