Shareholders of CJ HelloVision, the nation’s No. 1 cable TV operator, on Friday approved the company’s planned merger with SK Broadband, the IPTV unit of SK Telecom.
More than 97 percent of the participating investors voted in favor of the 1 trillion won ($823 million) deal despite heightened resistance from minority shareholders, rival companies and advocacy groups.
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CJ HelloVision CEO Kim Jin-seok responds to reporters after a shareholders meeting in Seoul on Friday. Yonhap |
“The two companies will ramp up efforts for the nation’s broadcasting industry and consumer values through aggressive investments and service developments,” CJ HelloVision CEO Kim Ji-seok said after the vote.
The shareholders’ vote came after SK Telecom, the nation’s largest telecom carrier, announced in November it would acquire a controlling 30 percent stake in CJ HelloVision from CJ O Shopping and then merge it with its own SK Broadband.
Following the merger, SK Telecom is expected to become the nation’s second-largest paid TV operator. With government approval pending, other market players, especially its runner-up telecom companies KT and LG Uplus, have fiercely resisted the deal, citing monopoly concerns.
State regulators are scheduled to announce their final approval on Feb. 29 but the deadline could be extended considering the mounting disputes.
Earlier on Friday, KT and LG Uplus released a joint statement saying the vote itself was invalid because it was against the law that bans the buyer from wielding any management power over the takeover company before the regulatory approval.
“At a time when the government is reviewing the merger plan, it is not appropriate to hold a shareholders’ vote on the issue. The vote clearly intends to affect the pending decision,” the two companies said.
But CJ HelloVision said the vote was carried out to ask shareholders’ opinions under proper legal procedures, denying any pressure from SK Telecom.
SK Telecom is pushing the merger, calling it crucial for its survival in the highly competitive media market, while rivals KT and LG Uplus are opposing it on grounds that it could harm fair competition and increase consumer prices.
By Lee Ji-yoon (
jylee@heraldcorp.com)
