According to several Chinese sources, Hong Kong-based Culturecom Holdings is about to acquire Super Sports Media Group for HK$3.875 billion (about US$499m) in cash and convertible bonds.
Super Sports owns the broadcasting rights to English Premier League matches until the end of the 2018/19 season. The intended purchase is aimed to help Culturecom assemble a well-established sports industry chain.
It is expected that with the assistance of soccer events, the Hong Kong company will develop more related businesses in order to increase profits.
Super Sports, founded in 2010, distributes sports programs via TV channels, internet and other platforms in China. In October 2012, Super Sports was awarded the exclusive live audiovisual broadcasting rights for all 380 Premier League matches per season for seasons 2013/14 - 2018/19 in Mainland China and Macau. Total revenue of Super Sports hit US$61.3 million last year.
As stated in earlier reports, Sina, Tencent and LeEco each have paid US$18m to Super Sports for part of the online media rights.
Source: iyiou.com
Proofread by Sean O Diobhilin.