i-Cable Communications, Hong Kong’s second-biggest pay-TV operator, set to announce takeover deal

i-Cable’s shares were suspended from trading in the morning before the market opened, pending an announcement

It is likely to announce new shareholders or consolidation with other companies to bring in money to finance its future expansion, according to a broker

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Entrance to the i-Cable offices at Cable TV Tower in Tsuen Wan. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 3:06pm, 4 Oct 2021Updated: 1:34pm, 5 Oct 2021

Hong Kong’s second-biggest pay-TV operator, i-Cable Communications, is set to announce a takeover deal, according to a stock exchange filing on Monday.

i-Cable’s shares were suspended from trading in the morning before the market opened, pending an announcement “potentially involving the Hong Kong Code on Takeovers and Mergers”.

“i-Cable Communications is likely to announce new shareholders or consolidation with other companies to add new money to finance its future expansion,” said Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director of Wealthy Securities. “The pay-TV and other media businesses are struggling as there are a lot of competitors sharing a small pie in Hong Kong.”

i-Cable is required to spend HK$3.45 billion (US$443 million) between 2017 and 2023 in capital investment and programming content under a concession that runs until May 2029, according to an earlier stock exchange filing.

Founded in 1999, i-Cable provides broadband internet and pay-TV services. It competes with rivals such as Now TV, Viu TV and Hong Kong Broadband Network in a city of 7.5 million people. i-Cable had 754,000 pay-TV subscribers as of June 2020, giving it a 38 per cent share of the market, according to its 2020 interim report and data from the Office of the Communications Authority.

In January, i-Cable sold HK$200 million worth of convertible bonds to Forever Top, its controlling shareholder with a 43.2 per cent stake. That was the fourth time the firm had tapped its owners to survive over the past two years, having used up all its resources.