Sale of D'Live may accelerate A creditor group of D'Live is likely to hire a sale manager this week
Translated by Kim So-in 공개 2020-04-10 08:00:04
이 기사는 2020년 04월 10일 08:00 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.
A sale of D’Live, South Korea’s fourth largest cable TV service provider, is drawing attention amid Hyundai Department Store’s announcement of its split-off of its cable TV and broadband services arm Hyundai HCN.Creditors of D’Live are expected to hire a sale manager this week, according to investment banking industry sources on April 7. Market insiders expect either Morgan Stanley or Bank of America Merrill Lynch to be picked. The sale process has been underway since 2017 with Samil PwC hired as a sale manager. Industry watchers expect the sale process to accelerate with the creditor group replacing the sale manager. “The sell-side’s negotiations with potential buyers have made a progress, which is expected to speed up the auction process with the replacement of the sale manager” said an industry source, adding, “In addition to KT, SK Broadband and LG Uplus are all showing interests in taking over the company.”
Market environment surrounding the sale of D’Live has been changed. The cable industry consolidation has accelerated via major acquisitions by the Big three mobile carriers – KT (Skylife), LG (LG Uplus and HelloVision) and SK (SK Broadband and Tbroad).
Market watchers see KT has the highest likelihood of acquiring D’Live as KT already has finished its due diligence on D’Live. KT initially announced it would acquire D'Live, but was cautious over obtaining over a third of the market that would breach the government regulation. The law had expired in June 2018. A bill currently pending in parliament does not include the one-third market share rule but other measures to toughen regulations on market monopoly.
Against this backdrop, some say the sale of D’Live may gain traction with its peer Hyundai HCN put up for sale. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, KT held a market share of 31.31 percent in the country’s pay TV market as of 2019, while LG Uplus held 24.72 percent and SK Broadband had 24.03 percent. D’Live and Hyundai HCN held a market share of 6.09 percent and 4.07 percent, respectively.
If KT is successful in acquiring D'Live, the company is expected widen its gap with the runner-up LG Uplus. If SK Broadband takes over D’Live, it is likely to narrow the gap with KT. Grabbing any one of the two companies could change their market ranks. In this regard, the competition to take over D’Live and Hyundai HCN may get fiercer with the telecom companies actively assessing the two target companies. It is said that the creditor group of D’Live is strongly willing to proceed with the deal at a rapid pace.
Local private equity firm MBK Partners and Macquarie Korea Opportunities Management had bought D’Live in 2007 for 2.2 trillion won, of which 1.4 trillion won was funded through acquisition financing. Their previous sale attempts all failed to go through. This time, the sale process is led by creditors that arranged acquisition financing, including Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank.
(By reporter Kim Hye-ran)
< 저작권자 ⓒ 자본시장 미디어 'thebell', 무단 전재, 재배포 및 AI학습 이용 금지 >
관련기사
best clicks
최신뉴스 in 전체기사
-
- 우리금융, 포스증권 합병 확정…임종룡 회장 '첫 M&A' 성사
- 라온시큐어, 공공기관 아이폰 보안관리솔루션 요건 충족
- [Company Watch] 갈 길 먼 삼성 파운드리, '적자탈출' 언제쯤
- [피플人 제약바이오]국제약품의 '안질환' 타깃, CTO가 밝힌 이유있는 자신감
- 씨이랩, 국제인공지능대전서 영상 특화 AI 제품 소개
- 보령, 카나브에 케이캡까지…매출 1조 목표에 '성큼'
- [수술대 오른 커넥트웨이브]8000억 투입하는 MBK, 높아진 엑시트의 벽
- KB운용, 외부서 인력 또 영입…내부 불만 고조
- '52주 최저가 근접' 티에스아이, 풋옵션 물량 부담
- 비브스튜디오스, 광주 백운광장 '인터렉티브 콘텐츠'