Skylife Acquires Hyundai HCN for 491.1 Billion KRW (Comprehensive)

KT Skylife Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire HCN
Only Government Review Remains... Final Acquisition Targeted Around July Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] KT Skylife has signed a final contract to acquire Hyundai HCN for 491.1 billion KRW. This comes just over two months after being selected as the preferred negotiation partner for Hyundai HCN. Now, only the approval reviews from the Fair Trade Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT remain.

On the 13th, KT Skylife announced that it signed a final contract with Hyundai Department Store Group to acquire 100% of the newly established Hyundai HCN, which will be spun off from the existing Hyundai HCN’s broadcasting and telecommunications business division on July 1st, for 491.1 billion KRW. This is just over two months after being selected as the preferred negotiation partner for Hyundai HCN.

KT Skylife Acquires 'Prime Asset' Hyundai HCN

KT Skylife stated that the acquisition of Hyundai HCN is intended to strengthen competitiveness in the paid broadcasting business and create synergy effects. Based on Hyundai HCN’s subscriber count (1,308,776 as of March), the acquisition price per cable TV subscriber is approximately 357,000 KRW, which is considered a reasonable price compared to other companies. After the acquisition, KT Skylife plans to support the fulfillment of approval conditions related to Hyundai HCN’s spin-off and confirm Hyundai Future Net, the surviving entity of Hyundai HCN, investing 65.8 billion KRW in media content.

By acquiring Hyundai HCN, KT Skylife will have two paid broadcasting platforms: satellite broadcasting and cable TV. It is expected to realize economies of scale through expanding paid broadcasting subscribers. KT Skylife will also acquire 100% of Hyundai Media, a subsidiary of Hyundai HCN, for 29 billion KRW to strengthen its content business competitiveness.

Only Government Review Remains for HCN Acquisition

With the signing of the final contract, KT Skylife is expected to accelerate the acquisition process of Hyundai HCN. KT Skylife is preparing to apply for a corporate merger review with the Fair Trade Commission and to submit an application for the transfer of the telecommunications business to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The application is expected to be submitted by early next month at the latest. KT Skylife plans the acquisition date of Hyundai HCN to be July 30, 2021.

Kim Cheol-soo, CEO of KT Skylife, said, “We will work closely with regulatory agencies to ensure that the legal and institutional acquisition procedures proceed smoothly. As this is the first case of combining satellite broadcasting and cable TV, we will focus on creating synergy between satellite broadcasting and cable TV as well as supporting customer demand-tailored services.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.