trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/noKgU7k9EkKxgI8AhQVjlw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Asia-Pacific: WPP to sell ADK stake; SoftBank to invest US$1B in Ola, Flipkart

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 50: InfoSec spending up, again…

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021


Asia-Pacific: WPP to sell ADK stake; SoftBank to invest US$1B in Ola, Flipkart

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a biweekly wrap-up of Asia-Pacific media and communications deal announcements, completions and updates from Nov. 16 to Nov. 27.

TOP NEWS

* U.K.-based advertising giant WPP Plc on Nov. 21 said it agreed to tender all of its 24.9% stake, or 10,331,100 shares, in its Japanese partner Asatsu-DK Inc. to private equity firm Bain Capital.

* SoftBank Group Corp. is set to purchase about US$1 billion worth of shares in Indian ride-hailing startup Ola Cabs and e-commerce giant Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. from Tiger Global Management, The Economic Times (India) reported Nov. 23, citing two people familiar with the development.

TECHNOLOGY

* A group of global hedge funds, which include Greenlight Capital and Third Point, will collectively buy ¥600 billion worth of newly issued shares in Toshiba Corp., according to a Nov. 20 Bloomberg News report.

* Two of China's biggest apps for online trucking services, Huochebang and Yunmanman, agreed on a merger that would value the new company at over US$2 billion, Bloomberg News reported Nov. 27, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Line Corp.'s Indonesian unit closed its acquisition of local chatbot-based carpooling platform TemanJalan on Nov. 17, DealStreetAsia reported Nov. 23.

* U.S. mobile marketing company AppLovin Corp. abandoned plans to sell a majority stake in Shanghai-based Orient Hontai Capital for US$1.4 billion and opted to accept a US$841 million debt investment instead, Reuters reported Nov. 21.

* Australia-based carsales.com Ltd. said Nov. 20 that it entered a memorandum of understanding with SK Group to acquire the remaining 50.1% stake in South Korean joint venture Encar.com for 205 billion won before adjusting for working capital.

* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Nov. 20 said it will invest HK$22.4 billion for a 36.16% stake in Chinese grocery store Sun Art to further push its offline retail in the food market.

* Toshiba has begun negotiations with Taiwan's ASUSTeK Computer Inc. regarding the divestment of its under-performing personal computer business, The Nikkei reported Nov. 17. Lenovo Group Ltd. is also showing interest in Toshiba's PC operations.

MEDIA

* Kuok Meng Ru, founder of Singapore's BandLab Singapore Pte. Ltd., is looking to buy the 51% of Rolling Stone magazine he doesn't own, Bloomberg News reported Nov. 22, citing an interview with Kuok.

* Dentsu Aegis Network on Nov. 22 said it agreed to acquire Oxyma Group B.V., a performance marketing agency in the Netherlands and Dubai.

* CBS Corp. on Nov. 16 announced that it closed the acquisition of Australia's Ten Network Holdings Ltd.

* PVR Cinemas on Nov. 16 said it agreed to acquire a minority stake in U.S.-based movie theater operator IPic-Gold Class Entertainment LLC.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Vocus Group Ltd. kicked off the sale process of its New Zealand telecommunications business by making its first pitch to potential buyers, according to The Australian Financial Review. Vocus is seeking more than A$500 million for the unit.

* Indonesian state-owned telco PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk acquired a 70% stake in Malaysian satellite communication service company TS Global Network Sdn. Bhd. for 108.5 million ringgit, via its subsidiary PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), Warta Ekonomi reported Nov. 25.

* KDDI Corp. on Nov. 22 said it will acquire all the shares of AEON Holdings by Jan. 22, 2018, and make it a wholly owned subsidiary.

* Telstra Corp. Ltd. is selling its 85% stake in its Phonewords business to a consortium led by Phonewords founder Gavin Scholes and Aura Funds Management, The Australian Financial Review reported Nov. 20, citing Scholes.