Taiwanese mobile operator Far EasTone and Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia are reportedly looking to secure a T$48bn (US$1.6bn) loan to fund an offer for China Network Systems (CNS).
The two companies are considering buying the 60% stake held by PE…
Taiwanese mobile operator Far EasTone and Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia are reportedly looking to secure a T$48bn (US$1.6bn) loan to fund an offer for China Network Systems (CNS).
The two companies are considering buying the 60% stake held by PE firm MBK Partners, the Taiwanese cableco’s parent, according to publication Basis Point citing banking sources close to the situation.
Citigroup is reportedly financial adviser on the transaction.
The companies were not immediately available to comment.
In April, reports suggested that MBK was in talks with device manufacturer Foxconn for a potential deal. A few weeks later, Foxconn agreed to buy a minority stake in Taiwanese wireless player Asia Pacific Telecom (APT), in a move to diversify its activities.
Last summer, MBK was said to have hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for a business trust IPO worth US$1bn, but it abandoned the plans subsequently.
In 2010, the firm had also looked to sell its stake in the triply-play provider, which has more than one million subscribers, to food manufacturer Want Want Group for US$2.4bn. However, local regulators blocked the deal because Want Want already owned Chung T’ien Television and China Television.
Far EasTone, which last year secured 4G spectrum, is Taiwan’s second-largest mobile operator. In April 2013, China Mobile failed to acquire a 12% stake in the company because of regulatory hurdles.