TPG Newbridge, a US private equity firm, and MBK Partners, a North Asia-focused private equity firm, have been shortlisted from an original list of six to participate in the final bidding round for China Networks Systems, according to a source in Taipei.
The four losers in the race for the Taiwanese cable television operator in a transaction estimated to be worth $1.5 billion are Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Goldman Sachs, CVC Asia Pacific and Macquarie Bank. Morgan Stanley is arranging the sale.
China Networks is 80 percent held by the Koo’s Group, a local family-owned business conglomerate. Star Group, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, holds a 20 percent stake in the company.
It has 1.1 billion subscribers, comparable to the market share of a rival operator, Eastern Multimedia, which The Carlyle Group had acquired for $1.5 billion a few months ago. Taiwan’s Investment Commission approved Carlyle’s acquisition in July.