Chinese giant Tencent Holdings acquired the content, technology and resources of the Malaysian Iflix platform service with the aim of expanding the reach of its online video service WeTV, which launched in Thailand in June 2019.
Although it did not extend the amount of the operation, it represents a further consolidation of the regional streaming business in Asia and constitutes the most far-reaching international outreach to date by any of the video streaming companies in China.
Industry sources say the Iflix brand would continue to operate for at least a period of at least 6-12 months and that Marc Barnett would continue to be CEO for the foreseeable future.
Iflix claimed to have more than 25 million active users in Southeast Asia and is available to consumers in Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Brunei, the Maldives, Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Nepal and Bangladesh. The Malaysian company was looking for a buyer as it faced increasing financial problems.
The acquisition comes amid growing speculation about Tencent's intention to buy a large stake in rival Chinese video streaming service iQiyi, backed by online search giant Baidu.