TVB buys into Ztore platform

TVB (0511) and Shaw Brothers will invest HK$200 million in a newly established special purpose vehicle, acquiring around a 75 percent stake of a local e-commerce platform Ztore.

Ztore owns and operates two e-commerce platforms in Hong Kong, namely ztore.com and neigbuy.com.

The total consideration for the acquisition is HK$200 million to be satisfied by HK$7 million in cash and a sum of HK$130 million represented by resources in relation to artists, television commercial spots and other advertising products on TVB's free to air and digital platforms.

TVB will own a majority of shares and voting rights.

TVB is expected to expand the scale of its e-commerce business by over four times in terms of gross merchandise value immediately after this transaction. The post-acquisition customer base for TVB's e-commerce business will be enlarged from the current level of 480,000 to over one million.

The company is also expected to benefit from an expanded product assortment and supply chain resources given Ztore's over 10,000 stock keeping units, which will further increase user activity and enhance customer experience.

The transaction is subject to a number of conditions and will terminate if closing has not occurred on or before September 30.