Liberty Global and Zain Group are investing in Iflix, a Malaysia-based provider of subscription streaming video services, Reuters reported. Liberty and Zain, along with existing shareholders Sky, venture capital firm Catcha Group and US-based merchant bank Evolution Media Capital, invested a total USD 90 million in Iflix. The companies did not disclose how much each invested and a spokesman for Iflix declined to comment on that.
Two-year old Iflix, which has 4.5 million customers, is hoping to be what Netflix is in the US to viewers in emerging markets, who mainly use their phones to watch shows and movies, Patrick Grove, CEO of Catcha Group and founder of iflix, told Reuters.
The streaming video provider, which has deals with more than 170 studios and distributors such as Viacom’s Paramount and MGM, is active in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines and is planning to enter the Middle East and Africa over the next few months, following a distribution deal with Zain. Investing in Iflix provides insight into the growing streaming video market as it builds its own video entertainment offerings, Bruce Mann, chief programming officer at Liberty said in a statement about the investment.
