China Mobile acquires 19.9 pct of Phoenix shares

China Mobile Limited (HK-0941) announced here Thursday to acquire 19.9 percent of the shares of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Limited from its holding company STAR Group Limited.

The agreement would pave the way for China Mobile to deliver Phoenix programs on its mobile networks, said the company.

China Mobile did not disclose how much it would spend on purchasing the shares. The market value of Phoenix is estimated at around seven billion HK dollars.

The transaction will curb STAR Group's share in Phoenix to 17.6 percent.

Under the deal, China Mobile would have preferential access to Phoenix news and selected programs and Phoenix would have easy access to China Mobile's networks.

The deal is part of China Mobile's strategy for the third generation mobile communication (3G), said the company.

The cooperation with Phoenix would help China Mobile to provide better wireless multimedia services, said Wang Jianzhou, chairman and chief executive officer of China Mobile.

China is expected to issue its first 3G license this year and 3G applications featuring multimedia services will bring both opportunities and challenges to telecom operators.

China Mobile is China's largest mobile operator and provides services to the mainland and Hong Kong. Its subscribers hit 265 million on April 30.

Source: Xinhua