Tencent to acquire iflix assets

Tencent will acquire iflix’s content, technology and resources

Chinese technology giant Tencent is set to buy the key assets of pan-Asian streaming service iflix for an undisclosed fee.

The deal will extend the reach of Tencent’s streaming platform WeTV into the region and comes after the pandemic hit iflix’s business model.

According to BNN Bloomberg, Tencent will acquire iflix’s content, technology and resources but will not take on the company’s debt.

“This is in line with our strategy to expand our international streaming platform, WeTV, across South-East Asia and provide users with international, local and original high-quality content in a wide range of genres and languages,” Tencent said in a statement.

Tencent is reportedly also looking to acquire a significant stake in its Chinese rival iQiyi.

Iflix has around 25 million users mainly in South and South-East Asia and was founded in 2014. It is currently available in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Maldives, Cambodia, Nepal and Bangladesh.

However, while the pandemic led to a rise in streaming on the platform, it also caused financial difficulties and the company reportedly shed around 50 staff earlier this year.

One of its rivals, South-East Asian VoD service Hooq, a joint venture between Singaporean telco Singtel, Warner Bros and Sony Pictures Television, filed for liquidation in March.