Thursday 6 October 2016

MBK Partners and TPG to acquire Wharf T&T from Wharf

Wharf from Wharf?! What's this all about? / Right, I've been sent at least eleven PR emails this week. (The ones I've kept.) 'You're so popular, boss.' Yeah, the word is out.

I'm going to pick two. 'Two?!' Two! One now, and one after. There's got to be some good shit here.

Hong Kong - MBK Partners, North Asia's largest independent buyout firm, and TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm, announced today that they will jointly acquire, through a newly established and jointly owned special purpose vehicle, Wharf T&T Limited from The Wharf (Holdings) Limited. The transaction values Wharf T&T at HK$9.5 billion.

Nice one! Wharf from Wharf. It all makes sense now.

Wharf T&T is Hong Kong's largest purely enterprise-focused telecom service provider, with an extensive fibre optic network covering approximately 90% of the commercial market. The company offers a strong portfolio of local data connectivity and a full suite of ICT services complemented by leading system integration capabilities.

Okay. Fine by me. I'm sure they know what they're doing.

Teck Chien Kong, Partner of MBK Partners said, "We are very impressed with Wharf T&T's successful track record of establishing a client base of over 50,000 enterprises in Hong Kong and of building a leading ubiquitous fibre network in Hong Kong, reflecting the quality and commitment of its management team and employees."

Oh, I was wondering when Teck Chien Kong was going to pipe up. 'Ha! What does Ricky Lau say, boss?' Christ!

Ricky Lau, Partner of TPG added, "We are excited to invest in Wharf T&T and look forward to partnering with the existing management team in providing world class technologies and internet services to enterprise customers in Hong Kong."

You see? Excited. 'Just like Ricky! He'll never change. What about Stephen Ng?' Forget about him, Voice. 'Okay. What about MBK Partners, then?' All right.

Established in March 2005, MBK Partners is a leading local and independent North Asian private equity firm focusing on the rapid development of private equity markets in Japan, Korea and China. With investor contributions from domestic/international public pensions, company pensions, university funds, government, etc., the company has about US$10.1 billion in capital and is providing business support for positive corporate value expansion by investing in a wide range of industries for both medium and large companies, including communications/media, financial services, retail/consumer goods, business services, transport, and manufacturing. MBK Partners has a long track record investing in Asian telecom assets.

'Thanks, boss. What about TPG?' We know all about them, so shut up. / Next! [Soon.]