|
China Cablecom Completes Phase One
Acquisition of Hubei Chutian Network
June 19, 2008
China Cablecom Holdings, Ltd. ("China Cablecom") (OTCBB: CCCHF)
(OTCBB: CCCZF) (OTCBB: CCCWF), a joint-venture provider of cable
television services in the People's Republic of China (PRC), today
announced that it has completed the first phase of a previously
announced agreement to acquire a 60 percent economic interest in
Hubei Chutian Video & Information Network ("Hubei Broadcasting"), a
joint venture with Hubei Chutian Broadcasting and Television Network
Co., Ltd. ("Hubei Chutian"), a local state-owned enterprise, owned
by the Hubei branches of China's State Administration of Radio Film
and Television ("SARFT") and nine other municipal branches of
China's SARFT in Hubei province.
The consummation of phase one, representing 17 cities, of the Hubei
Broadcasting acquisition secures over 800,000 additional paying
subscribers for China Cablecom. Total consideration to be paid for
phase one will be approximately $55 million and will be payable in
installments. China Cablecom will be able to consolidate 60 percent
of the financial results of operations and cash flows of Hubei
Broadcasting into its financial results pursuant to US Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles from the date of closing. Phase two,
which was previously announced, would represent an additional
800,000 paying subscribers and is pending further due diligence and
execution of definitive agreements.
Located in the Hubei province in central China, Hubei Chutian
controls over 30 cable network systems, which serve approximately 50
percent of a total provincial population base of 60.3 million. The
Hubei Chutian cable network passes 4.5 million homes and has
approximately 3.0 million paying subscribers.
About China Cablecom Holdings
China Cablecom Holdings is a joint-venture provider of cable
television services in the People's Republic of China, operating in
partnership with a local state-owned enterprise ("SOE") authorized
by the PRC government to control the distribution of cable TV
services through the deployment of analog & digital cable services.
China Cablecom recently entered into an agreement to acquire a 60
percent economic interest in a cable network in Hubei province with
paying subscribers exceeding 800,000. The Company originally
acquired operating rights of the Binzhou Broadcasting network in
Binzhou, Shandong Province in September 2007 by entering into a
series of asset purchase and services agreements with a company
organized by SOEs owned directly or indirectly by local branches of
SARFT in five different municipalities to serve as a holding company
of the relevant businesses. China Cablecom operates 22 cable
networks with over 1.2 million paying subscribers. China Cablecom
Holdings' strategy is to replicate the acquisitions by operating
partnership models in other municipalities and provinces in the PRC
and then introducing operating efficiencies and increasing service
offerings in the networks it operates.
Safe Harbor Statement
The matters discussed in this press release contain "forward-looking
statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contained in this
presentation and in the Company's other written and oral reports are
based on current Company expectations and are subject to risks and
uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ
materially. Any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results of operations, financial
condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry may differ
materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking
statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are
subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The
forward-looking statements herein speak only as of the date stated
herein and might not occur in light of these risks, uncertainties,
and assumptions. China Cablecom Holdings undertakes no obligation
and disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise. You should carefully consider these
factors as well as the additional risk factors outlined in the
filings that China Cablecom Holdings makes with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the Registration Statement on
Form S-1 filed on April 18, 2008.
|
