이 기사는 2021년 08월 26일 08시07분 thebell에 표출된 기사입니다

KT Skylife, the satellite broadcasting arm of South Korea's major telco KT Corp, has received conditional approval for its takeover of cable TV operator Hyundai HCN from the country's competition watchdog Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), moving a step closer to completing the transaction.

KFTC on Tuesday conditionally approved KT Skylife’s planned acquisition of Hyundai HCN on concerns that the combination could partially hinder market competition.

The regulator granted approval under the condition that KT Skylife abides by seven restrictive measures until the end of 2024. They include a ban on raising cable TV subscription fees beyond the inflation rate, arbitrarily changing the number of channels and forcing customers to use more expensive products. KT Skylife can ask KFTC to review the measures one year after the acquisition is completed.

It is likely that those measures will limit flexibility of KT Skylife’s operating strategy in the pay TV market. The company is thus likely to focus on finding new business opportunities to capitalize on the increased customer base resulting from the acquisition, rather than trying to growing revenue from the pay TV services, which could put the company at risk of violating the measures.

KT Skylife may expand Hyundai HCN’s portfolio to include new businesses that could create synergies with existing services.

According to the country’s science ministry, KT Skylife held an 8.95% share in the domestic pay TV market in the second half of 2020. Post the acquisition of Hyundai HCN, which had a 3.74% share in the same period, KT Skylife’s market share will rise to 12.69%.

KT Skylife’s takeover of Hyundai HCN is also expected to intensify the competition among the big three telcos – KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus – in the domestic market for bundle packages for cable TV, internet and phone services. (Reporting by Pil-woo Choi)