CJ Group to buy OnMedia for 434 bln won

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SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- CJ Group, a major South Korean conglomerate, said
Thursday it will buy a domestic cable-television operator for 435 billion won
(US$369 million) in a deal that will help solidify its presence in the media
content market.

The group said affiliate CJ O Shopping Co. will buy a 55.17 percent stake in
OnMedia from Orion Corp. and three other major shareholders. It has been in
negotiations with Orion to buy the stake. Orion owns 37 percent of OnMedia.
OnMedia operates 10 cable channels including OCN and Tooniverse, and is the
country's No. 2 program provider after CJ Media Co. with 560,000 viewers.
CJ O Shopping would have 3.2 million subscribers after the deal, helping to boost
its presence in the local home shopping market.
"The deal may boost OnMedia's corporate value on lowered costs and ample content
in its cable programming services," said Yang Jong-in, an analyst at Korea
Investment & Securities Co.
Shares of OnMedia surged by the daily limit of 15 percent to 4,495 won on the
Seoul bourse as of 11:00 a.m., while shares of CJ O Shopping were trading at
75,300 won, down 0.66 percent.
sam@yna.co.kr
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