trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/yS6AGvYxSt0a0UHDwzJMww2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Tencent to acquire stake in Funcom; Huawei denies plans to buy Oi

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


Tencent to acquire stake in Funcom; Huawei denies plans to buy Oi

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of Asia-Pacific media and communications deal announcements, completions and updates from Sept. 16 to Oct. 4.

TOP NEWS

* Tencent Holdings Ltd. is acquiring a 29% stake in game developer and publisher Funcom SE for an undisclosed sum. Under the deal, the Chinese internet giant will buy all the shares held by Funcom's biggest shareholder, KGJ Capital AS.

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. denied that it plans to acquire Brazilian operator Oi SA or any other telecom company in the Latin American country, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Chinese company. The statement comes after Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that Huawei may potentially team up with China Mobile Ltd. to bid for Oi.

* Mosaic Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, agreed to merge a subsidiary with Blackstone Group Inc.'s smart home technology company Vivint Inc. to form Vivint Smart Home Inc. The new company is expected to have an agreed initial enterprise value of US$5.6 billion and an initial market capitalization of approximately US$3.1 billion. Mosaic is majority owned by SoftBank's Fortress Investment Group LLC.

* Qualcomm Inc. completed the acquisition of the remaining interest in RF360 Holdings Singapore Pte. Ltd., its joint venture with Japan-based equipment-maker TDK Corp. The total purchase price, including the initial investment, payments to TDK based on sales by the joint venture and development obligations, will be about US$3.1 billion.

TECHNOLOGY

* Beijing Byte Dance Technology Co. Ltd. is in talks to sell TopBuzz, the company's overseas news and entertainment app, The Information reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Potential buyers include some U.S. media companies, though it is unclear whether discussions will result in a deal.

* SoftBank increased its ownership stake in Banco Inter SA to 14.94% from 8.1%, according to a filing from the Brazilian online bank. SoftBank now holds 35 million Banco Inter share deposit certificates, each representing 1 common share and 2 preferred shares. The technology giant will also have the right to appoint a board member at Banco Inter.

MEDIA

* China Literature Ltd. agreed to buy a 20% equity interest in OBU for US$10.5 million via its wholly owned subsidiary Cloudary Corp. OBU, a provider of online literature and digital lifestyle content in Thailand, has Tencent as its controlling shareholder.

* Australian publications Bendigo Advertiser and Bendigo Weekly are merging under a deal initiated by Australian Community Media co-owner Antony Catalano. The merger will see a combined Domain real estate guide and a new-look weekend edition of the Advertiser incorporating the Weekly launching in October.

* Kakao M Corp. purchased 41% and 81% of local movie production studios Wolgwang and Sanai Pictures, respectively, Digital Daily reported. The acquisitions will help the Kakao Corp. subsidiary enter the original video content business.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Jupiter Telecommunications Co. Ltd. acquired ZAQA, a local company that offers information technology support, for an undisclosed sum. Through the acquisition, J:COM seeks to strengthen its support system for the internet of things using ZAQA's after-service experience.

* Singapore-based NTT DATA Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. acquired Bangkok-based Locus Telecommunication Inc. Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Through the acquisition, the NTT DATA Corp. unit aims to enhance its digital transformation offerings amid market expansion in Thailand.

* PT Hutchison 3 Indonesia is looking into acquisition and merger schemes with rival telecom operators, Kontan reported. The company said it reached out to three local operators to discuss consolidation opportunities.

* 5G Networks Ltd. completed its acquisition of Australian Pacific Data Centres Pty. Ltd. The acquisition announced on Sept. 12 has a transaction value of A$3.5 million at a 7x EBITDA multiple.

Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.