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Asia-Pacific: Tencent, Spotify swap stakes; Bain finalizes ADK tender offer

The Asia-Pacific edition of M&A Replay presents a biweekly wrap-up of technology, media and telecoms deal announcements, completions and updates in the region.

TOP NEWS

* As expected, Spotify AB and Tencent Holdings Ltd. subsidiary Tencent Music Entertainment Group agreed to buy equity stakes in each other, the companies said Dec. 8. Tencent Music Entertainment and Spotify will buy new shares representing minority equity stakes in each other for cash. Tencent will also invest in Spotify through secondary purchases.

* Bain Capital LP on Dec. 7 finalized its tender offer for Asatsu-DK Inc., acquiring 87.05% of Japan's third-largest advertising agency. ADK's largest shareholder, U.K.-based WPP Plc, originally opposed the takeover bid as too low but agreed to a deal on Nov. 21 and other shareholders followed suit.

TECHNOLOGY

* Indonesia-based information communication and technology company PT Metrodata Electronics Tbk will merge two of its subsidiaries, PT Logicalis Metrodata Indonesia and PT Packet System Indonesia, to streamline its operations, Indotelko reported Dec. 9.

* U.S.-based conglomerate Honeywell International Inc. said Dec. 7 that it is picking up a 25% stake in Chinese software provider Flux Information Technology, as well as forming a joint venture with Flux that will serve customers outside China.

* Tsinghua Unigroup Ltd., China's top state silicon chipmaker, hiked its shareholding in Dialog Semiconductor Plc, now holding an 8.15% voting stake, Reuters reported Dec. 7.

* Australian online deals marketplace Scoopon Pty. Ltd., DEALS.COM.AU Pty. Ltd. and Catch Group Pty. Ltd.'s catch.com.au have consolidated shortly after Amazon.com Inc. launched in Australia, Business Insider (Australia) reported Dec. 5. Catch Group and Lux Group Ltd. signed a series of deals to form e-commerce businesses with a combined turnover of A$600 million.

* Toshiba Corp. is selling the greater part of its stake in Shibaura Mechatronics Corp., a chipmaking equipment maker, as part of ongoing efforts to recover from crippling losses, The Nikkei reported Dec. 5. The sale will bring in roughly ¥4.8 billion.

* Alphabet Inc.'s Google Inc. is acquiring a minority stake in Indian delivery startup Dunzo by leading a fundraising round worth up to US$12 million, The Economic Times (India) reported Dec. 5.

* LINE Corp. announced Dec. 4 that it is acquiring all shares in FIVE Inc., a smartphone-based video advertising platform, to make it a fully owned subsidiary.

* Fujitsu Ltd. will invest roughly ¥2 billion in 1QB Information Technologies Inc., a Canadian quantum software company, as the Japanese company moves to market its own quantum computer, The Nikkei reported Nov. 29. Fujitsu will take a 9.3% stake in 1QBit.

* Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has acquired South Korean artificial intelligence startup Fluenty, The Korea Herald reported Nov. 28.

MEDIA

* Meitu Inc. picked up a minority stake in PressLogic, a Hong Kong-based media company that specializes in native advertising, but declined to give financial details, the South China Morning Post reported Dec. 7.

* Japanese advertising company Dentsu Inc. said Dec. 6 that its global business hub Dentsu Aegis Network reached a deal to acquire a 100% stake in San Francisco-based digital marketing agency Swirl Inc. It separately announced an agreement to buy all shares in Indonesia's PT Valuklik, a digital performance marketing company.

* YG Entertainment Inc. sold its entire stake of 1.37 million shares in YJM Games Co. Ltd. for about 6.7 billion South Korean won due to poor performance of the mobile game business cooperation between the companies, Korea Economic Daily reported Dec. 6.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* PT Inti Bangun Sejahtera Tbk, an Indonesian telco infrastructure provider, bought 371 telco towers from PT Sampoerna Telekomunikasi Indonesia, an Indonesian telco company, Kontan reported Dec. 2.

* Reliance Communications Ltd. on Nov. 27 said that it entered into a binding share purchase agreement with Pantel Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and Veecon Media and Television Ltd. for the sale of its direct-to-home subsidiary Reliance BIG TV Ltd.

* Bharti Airtel Ltd. said Dec. 4 that it acquired a strategic stake in Juggernaut Books, a digital platform for reading books and submitting amateur writing.