Taiwan Mobile has acquired Kbro, one of the country’s leading cable TV operators in a deal that will create one of Taiwan’s first converged multimedia players. According to a Financial Times report, Taiwan Mobile – the country’s second-largest mobile operator – will acquire Kbro from Carlyle, the US private equity firm. Carlyle divested ownership of Kbro in exchange for a 15 percent stake in Taiwan Mobile, in a deal that gives the cable TV operator an enterprise value of about TWD60 billion (US$1.8 billion). Official confirmation of the deal was announced at a press conference in Taipei this week. Carlyle acquired Eastern Multimedia Company in 2006 as part of a wave of foreign investment into Taiwan’s cable TV sector and later rebranded it as Kbro.

The Financial Times notes that the deal will strengthen Taiwan Mobile’s position as the principle competitor to Taiwan’s mobile market-leader, Chungwha Telecom. Taiwan Mobile hinted earlier this month that it is in negotiations regarding a tie-up with one of China’s main mobile operators, believed to be either China Unicom or China Telecom, China’s second- and third-largest mobile operators, respectively. The deal would mirror Chinese market-leader China Mobile’s ongoing efforts to buy a 12 percent stake in Taiwan Mobile rival, Far EasTone, the island’s third-largest mobile operator.