Update | Richard Li's PCCW abandons bid for European video-sharing site Dailymotion

PCCW, the flagship conglomerate of Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li Tzar-kai, is on to the next acquisition  after abandoning its bid to purchase a 49 per cent stake in European online video-sharing service Dailymotion.

“PCCW has a clear digital strategy and will continue to invest to expand its media business internationally via OTT (over-the-top) video platforms and partnerships,” the company said in a statement, which confirmed the scuppered acquisition.

Reports last month had said that Orange, the French telecommunications network operator that owns Dailymotion, was to conduct negotiations with PCCW, which valued the YouTube rival at about 250 million euros (HK$2.13 billion).

“PCCW saw an opportunity to further develop Dailymotion and expand its geographic reach as a global video service by bringing to bear our content aggregation, production and operational expertise,” the Hong Kong-traded company said.

It runs Now TV, the largest pay-television provider in Hong Kong, and controls HKT, which runs the city’s biggest fixed-line and mobile networks. The decision by PCCW to withdraw from negotiations with Orange was apparently caused by the French government’s preference for a European partner for Dailymotion.

France owns a 24.9 per cent stake in Orange and Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron asked the company not to enter into exclusive talks with PCCW before talking to all interested parties, with the idea of finding a European solution. PCCW pointed out that “an environment where policies appear to favour a French or European solution is discouraging for international business participation”.