SK Broadband to merge with No. 2 cable operator t-broad

/ Yonhap

South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Thursday its fixed broadband subsidiary SK Broadband Inc. will merge with No. 2 cable TV operator, t-broad, paving the way for expansion of the telecom's media business.

In a regulatory briefing, SK Telecom said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Taekwang Group, the largest stakeholder of t-broad, for the merger of their two subsidiaries.

If the deal is finalized, SK Telecom will become the largest shareholder in the new entity.

Together with t-broad's cable TV subscribers and SK Broadband's Internet Protocol (IP) television users, the merged company is expected to have 7.7 million of TV viewers to take up 23.8 percent of the pay TV market share.

The leading telecom company's announcement comes just a week after its smaller rival LG Uplus Corp. signed a deal to acquire a 50 percent stake in CJ Hello Co., the nation's largest cable TV operator.

SK Broadband will remain in third place in the pay TV market after the merger, following market leader KT and LG Uplus, once its acquisition deal for CJ Hello is finalized.

SK Telecom had initially planned to acquire a controlling stake in CJ Hello, but the deal fell through due to regulatory hurdles in 2016.

"IPTV and cable TV are the linchpin of the pay TV market's development," SK Telecom said. "We will create synergy between IPTV and cable TV to enhance the media ecosystem." (Yonhap)