The private equity owners of South Korean cable group C&M have instructed Goldman Sachs to begin seeking buyers this week after seven years of ownership, hoping that fierce competition among rival operators could lead to a valuation as high as $3 billion.

MBK, a South Korean private equity firm founded by former Carlyle Group managers, leads a consortium that has held 92.5 per cent of C&M since 2008. The consortium also includes Macquarie Group and Seoul-based Mirae Asset Management. 

The owners hope to complete the sale this year and are seeking an equity valuation of $2.5bn-$3bn for C&M noting improving investor sentiment towards the global media industry and strong competition in South Korea’s relatively crowded pay-TV market. A consortium led by KKR last year sold the South Korean brewer Oriental Brewery for $5.8 billion including debt. KKR had bought the company in 2009 for $1.8 billion including debt.

C&M is the third-biggest of South Korea’s four major cable television operators, with 2.4 million subscribers mostly in Seoul.

Other posts by :

1. Eutelsat share price rockets
2. AST SpaceMobile recovers after Verizon agreement
3. Bank has mixed messages for AST SpaceMobile
4. EchoStar clears key regulatory hurdles for Starlink deal
5. Starlinks falling to Earth every day
6. 650 Starlink D2C craft in orbit
7. Bank upgrades SES to ‘Buy’
8. Eutelsat shareholders reach agreement at AGM
9. Ghana makes MultiChoice fee decision

Categories: Articles, Business, Cable, M&A