Tencent has acquired Southeast Asian streaming video service Iflix, Variety reported. Tencent intends to further consolidate its regional streaming business in Asia with this acquisition.
Content partners were informed that the Iflix brand name will continue to operate for at least 6-12 months, the report said. The majority of Iflix’s existing staff are expected to keep their jobs. These include Marc Barnett, who remains CEO for the foreseeable future.
Tencent confirmed that it has purchased Iflix’s content, technology and resources. The assets are expected to help expand its international streaming platform, WeTV, across Southeast Asia, the Chinese company said.
Iflix counted over 25 million subscribers as of April. Tencent is paying "several tens of millions" of dollars for the deal, the report said citing people with knowledge of the deal.
Based in Malaysia, Iflix's investors included Liberty Global, Zain, Sky, Hearst and Catcha Group. After trying to expand to the Middle East and Africa, the company later scaled back to focus on 13 countries in south and east Asia. It had been hoping to pursue a stock market listing this year, but was struggling to meet its debt commitments, according to recent reports.
