The National Communications Commission on Monday said it would hold the first public hearing over the pending sale of China Network Systems (CNS) on Tuesday next week.
Stakeholders in the deal as well as members of the public and civic groups are invited to comment on the sale, it added.
The CNS is one of the nation’s largest multiple system operators, with about 1.22 million subscribers.
Its largest shareholder, MBK Partners, earlier this year signed an agreement to sell its stake to an investment team led by KHL Capital chairman Gary Kuo (郭冠群) for about NT$51.5 billion (US$1.68 billion).
Two of the investment team’s largest shareholders are investment firms set up through the Y.L. Lin Hung Tai Education Foundation, which is owned by the Hung Tai Group, a real-estate developer.
The public hearing is to gather opinions from members of the public, the commission said, adding that it would also hold an administrative hearing before it decides whether to approve the deal.
It would consider whether the deal would hinder competition in the media market and its effects on consumers’ interests and national security, the commission said.
“The commission will examine whether the foundation, as a trust fund, has followed regulations when indirectly investing in cable systems, and the effects of such an investment on the operations of cable systems and the media market,” it added.
An investigative report published by the Chinese-language Wealth Magazine said that the deal is an example of big corporations turning non-profit foundations, which are supposed to encourage wealthy people to engage in charitable work, into an investment tool to evade taxes.
This is the fourth time MBK Partners has attempted to sell CNS.
Other potential buyers have included Want Want China Times Group from 2011 to 2013, Ting Hsin International Group from 2014 to 2015 and Morgan Stanley from 2015 to last year.
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