That media pro-rescue reaches the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC). Now the body starts overviewing that media conglomerate, directed by Jaime Roures low-key Chinese tycoon Tang Hao, has captured “exclusive control” through a holding company based in Singapore. This comes after a “last resort” debt restructuring late last year.
That operation was announced by the media group last November, saving a new “party score” in negotiations that took several months and had two options on the table and drafted by Lazard on behalf of debt funds Searchlight and Invesco. Oriental Khontai, which controlled more than 50% of titles, ended up signing with the latter though it was an unknown Chinese tycoon who contributed a significant amount in cash, along with working capital financing to paper over the short term.
Tang Hao is still the acquirer of “exclusive control” over the company, which is run by Roures and Tacho Benet. You do it through the Singaporean company Southwind Group Limited, where Li Roure has also invested in the online gaming sector. There is no estimated percentage, but this position of control allows you to make decisions related to strategy. The CEO of Joye Media is Joye Tian.
This particular merger notification of CNMC was initially made for the first reason: because the relevant market share is a certain percentage of the total domestic telecommunications market. This deal would be approved at this stage and nothing would stop them from finishing the process by next March.
It was only last November when the recapitalization of the company was agreed upon, with which Benet and Roures will remain as top managers and minority shareholders, along with the British media and advertising agency WPP. The injection contributed 150 million euros to cover short-term financial needs, plus a 470 million euro capital increase would bring us down to 3x Ebitda – which still represents a lot of debt. Now, this CNMC notice reflects that Orient Hontai is now controlled by a Chinese tycoon.
The Commission has thirty days to quickly approve the emergence of a new Mediapro reference partner.
Cautious Gaming Investor
Tang Hao is a Chinese millionaire with a background in online gambling. He’s now focused on Stars PLC, but he also owned shares of other successful companies like PokerStars. One of his most prominent bets is the quoted Playtech, a company that offers software for casinos, poker games, and other types of gambling. In a notice given exactly last Tuesday to the stock exchange regulator in London, United Kingdom, it was confirmed that controls 2.8% of the company (more than 70 million euros) through Southwind Group Limited, with which it is now part of Mediapro. He was also a relevant shareholder (with over 17%) of the giant Stars Group, owner of firms such as Pokerstars.
When he entered the e-sports industry almost ten years ago, Wang Jiewei wasn’t a shoo-in for success. Working for one of the most powerful groups in his country and with a team of over 50 programmers on his side, he found success as a pioneer of the industry. Five years later, Kojima departed from e-sports to participate in an unsuccessful consortium that planned to buy Liverpool F.C. As for things outside of e-sports, Wang counts Kojima Opensource as one of the companies under his media group and is now making waves on Spanish television.
Mediapro has suffered a big blow in the past year because of the deadly coronavirus. However, despite this tragedy, the group is still managing to produce content and earn revenue. For the fiscal year 2021, an expected turnover of more than 1.2 billion euros and an operating result (Ebitda) of $160 million are planned.
