Taiwan could soon see its first fixed-mobile convergence deal, if number three cellco Far EasTone Telecommunications (TPE:4904) is successful in buying leading cableco China Network Systems.
The operator, together with Morgan Stanley’s private…
Taiwan could soon see its first fixed-mobile convergence deal, if number three cellco Far EasTone Telecommunications (TPE:4904) is successful in buying leading cableco China Network Systems.
The operator, together with Morgan Stanley’s private equity arm and local investors, has made a US$2.3bn offer for China Network Systems and signed an MoU with its owner MBK Partners, The Wall Street Journal reported. An agreement could reportedly be ready within days.
Spokespeople for Morgan Stanley, Far EasTone, China Network Systems and MBK Partners were not available for comment before press time.
China Network Systems reportedly has 1.3 million customers, and is the leading provider in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Far EasTone, which had 7.4 million customers as of September 2014, was linked in March to a T$18bn (US$570m) takeover offer for rival Taiwan Star Cellular, which itself has some 2.85 million subscribers.
The Taiwanese mobile market is led by Chunghwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile, which had respective customer bases of 11.2 million and 9.2 million as of February 2015.
MBK Partners describes itself as one of the Asia-Pacific region’s largest independent private equity firms, with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo. Morgan Stanley describes its global private equity arm as a leading middle-market platform active primarily in North America, as well as Europe and other regions.
