Fixed-line Provider HGC Makes a $1 billion Bid to Acquire Hong Kong's Telecom HKBN

Local broadband provider HKBN is being sought after by Hong Kong-based fixed-line telecommunication company HGC Global Communications for $1 billion. Shares in HKBN increased 13% after Bloomberg's original report before trading was suspended. The firm is currently valued at about $934 million, yet the stock has still declined by about 43% over the last year. The bid is still being considered, so a sale could not happen. In the past, HKBN considered selling, and both KKR and PAG were interested. However, the process was put on hold because of the erratic market.

According to Bloomberg, as the Chinese mainland tightens its hold on Hong Kong's digital infrastructure, Chinese businesses or funds supported by the Chinese government may also be interested in purchasing. HKBN offers a variety of telecom and data center services in addition to providing broadband services to both people and enterprises. The firm says that the majority of the data centers in Hong Kong, where it offers colocation, are constructed to Tier III standards. HGC, owned by I Squared Capital, provides data center services in addition to its fixed-line operations. Together with HGC, I Squared Capital also owns the recently established German Edge company nLighten, the European infrastructure company Exa Infrastructure, and the Mexican data center company Kio Networks.