SEOUL, South Korea-SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest wireless operator, acquired 51.2 percent of Shinsegi Telecom from Pohang Iron and Steel for about $961.2 million. Posco will hold 6.5 percent of SK Telecom shares.
The deal gives SK Telecom about 60 percent of the country’s wireless market and makes it the world’s fifth-largest cellular provider with 13 million subscribers.
South Korea is set to award third-generation licenses next year. The country’s Ministry of Information and Communications has said the number of licensees and method of screening will be determined by the end of June and that the screening process will be wrapped up by the end of the year. The country’s firms have been scrambling to reshape their businesses to secure a position ahead of the competition for the much-coveted 3G licenses.
“The deal will have a positive impact on the IMT-2000 licensing prospects of SK Telecom,” the company said in a statement.
Both SK Telecom and Shinsegi use the 800 MHz band for cellular services. Shinsegi holds about 14.2 percent of the South Korean wireless market.
