Liberty Media Expands Its Presence in Japanese Cable
Monday February 9, 5:10 am ET
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. and TOKYO, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
-- LibertyMedia International LLC (Liberty Media), a subsidiary of LibertyMedia Corporation (NYSE: L - News, LMC.B - News), has announced that it has entered into an agreement to invest up to $82 million in Mediatti Communications, Inc., a Japanese cable MSO. Mediatti owns and operates broadband networks passing over 600,000 households, mainly in the Tokyo area. Mediatti is controlled by Olympus Capital Holdings Asia, a private equity fund manager, in partnership with Tomen Corporation.
This investment complements Liberty Media's existing interest as one of the primary investors in Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Ltd. (J-COM), Japan's largest broadband and cable service provider, based on the number of customers served. Liberty Media is discussing with Sumitomo Corporation, Liberty Media's partner in J-COM, participation in the Mediatti transaction. Liberty Media will initially acquire a 23% ownership stake in Mediatti, and have the ability to increase its ownership by funding up to a total of $82 million, which will primarily be used for future Mediatti acquisitions. "Our investment in Mediatti is a reaffirmation of our commitment to Japanese cable and a complementary strategy to our existing investment in J-COM," said Graham Hollis, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Liberty Media International. Mr. Hollis continued, "As the Japanese cable industry prepares to roll out digital service we believe Liberty Media can help drive industry co-operation on issues such as set-top box specifications, expansion of High-Speed Data services, and planning for NVOD/VOD. Such co-operation will significantly benefit Japanese consumers."
"With Liberty Media's experience in the global cable industry and our shared vision for Japanese cable we believe Liberty Media will be instrumental in helping Mediatti forge stronger partnerships with independent cable operators and other MSOs in Japan," said David Shen, Managing Director of Olympus.
Mediatti President Ken Masunaga added: "Mediatti's ultimate goal is to provide the best video, data and communication services to Japanese consumers through our networks. Cable in Japan is extremely well-positioned to compete against satellite, ADSL and FTTH and this transaction with Liberty Media will help accelerate the process of consolidation in the industry."
Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L - News, LMC.B - News) is a holding company owning interests in a broad range of electronic retailing, media, communications and entertainment businesses operating in the United States, Europe, South America and Asia. Our businesses are classified in three groups; Interactive, Networks and International and include some of the world's most recognized and respected brands, including QVC, Encore, STARZ!, Discovery, UnitedGlobalCom, Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp, and News Corporation.
Mediatti is one of Olympus Capital's five investments in Japan and one of approximately 20 investments in the Asia Pacific region. To date, Olympus Capital has committed over $650 million in equity on behalf of its funds and co-investors, of which approximately $300 million has been in Japan, including Arysta LifeScience Corporation, the world's eighth largest agrochemical company, and a joint venture in financial assets with a leading Japanese commercial bank. Olympus Capital has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York and Seoul. |
