Deadline nears for bids for PCCW telecoms/new media unit

July 14, 2008 - The deadline closes today for parties interested in purchasing a 45% stake in a new media and telecoms company being separated out of Hong Hong conglomerate PCCW, with US investor Texas Pacific Group having made a firm offer according to local sources.

PCCW has grouped together its fixed line telephony business, a mobile phone operation and its "Now TV" IPTV business, which has recently overtaken its nearest cable rival as the largest pay-TV operator in the country. The deadline ends today (Monday 14th July) and bids are expected to be upwards of US$3bn, with other private equity groups and investment houses to show interest including Blackstone, Providence Equity Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Macquarie.

The move is a repeat of a proposed ownership deal that PCCW attempted two years ago, then blocked by China's Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, which objected to foreign ownership of Hong Kong's dominant telecoms provider. Now TV had over 750,000 subscribers as of the end of the first quarter of this year.