SEOUL, South Korea-Korea Telecom has agreed to purchase a 48-percent stake in Korean wireless operator Hansol M.com for $2.6 billion. Bell Canada International Inc., American International Group Inc. and South Korea’s Hansol Group agreed to sell their combined 48 percent of the country’s smallest carrier.
BCI said it will receive cash, promissory notes and SK Telecom shares valued at about $1.1 billion for its 21-percent Hansol M.com stake. Korea Telecom owns 17.8 percent of SK Telecom, South Korea’s dominant wireless operator with about 12 million subscribers and a market capitalization of more than $30 billion.
Korea Telecom also owns a 39-percent stake of KT Freetel, the country’s second-largest mobile carrier with 4.7 million users.
Hansol M.com has 2.8 million customers. The company launched service in 1997 after winning one of three personal communications services licenses awarded in 1996.
The highly competitive South Korean wireless market has seen tremendous consolidation of late, as companies scramble to reshape their businesses to secure third-generation licenses. SK Telecom purchased a 51-percent stake in Shinsegi Telecom late last year. Shinsegi Telecom has about 3.6 million subscribers, giving SK Telecom control of about 60 percent of South Korea’s wireless market.
In addition, KT Freetel formed a strategic alliance with Microsoft Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Canada’s Capital Communications CDPQ in 1999, giving the companies a combined 9.3-percent share of the carrier and access to a potential Windows CE market in the 3G arena.
The government’s Ministry of Information and Communication plans to announce the number of 3G licensees and method of screening by the end of the month.
The MIC has remained cautious about providing 3G licensing details, following problems with its PCS licensing in 1996. The three carriers that won PCS licenses-KT Freetel, Hansol M.com and LG TeleCom-and government officials who handled the licensing were charged with excessive lobbying. Some officials were brought to a parliamentary inspection for their involvement in the process.
