KIRKLAND, Wash.-AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s Hong Kong venture, SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Ltd., signed conditional agreements with Star Telecom International Holdings Ltd. and Telecom Service Ltd. to acquire P Plus Communications Ltd. for about $95 million.
SmarTone will gain additional spectrum through the acquisition, which will allow the company to grow its subscriber base and maintain a strong position in the Hong Kong market, noted AT&T.
The acquisition will be paid in cash and funded by SmarTone’s internal resources.
SmarTone, a Global System for Mobile communications provider, began as a joint venture between AT&T Wireless; Sun Hung Kai Properties, a Hong Kong property developer; ABC Communications of Hong Kong; and Town Khan, a company owned by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in China. SmarTone now is publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and AT&T is a 16.5-percent shareholder.
The transaction is scheduled to be completed by April 15, said the company. The agreement is conditional upon the approval of Hong Kong’s Office of Telecommunications Authority.
