‘Netflix of Indonesia’ merges with SPAC to list on US exchange

This is the latest version of the article that was previously updated on March 23, 2021.

Asia Vision Network (AVN), the parent company of Indonesia-based video-streaming platform Vision+, has merged with the Southeast Asia-focused blank-check company Malacca Straits Acquisition (MSA).

The company has submitted a confidential draft of a Registration Statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the merger, and the process is expected to be completed in Q3 this year.

The merger will see AVN as a US-listed Indonesian holding company that is expected to trade on Nasdaq.

Photo credit: Copyright: gmast3r / 123RF

AVN and MSA announced that they have signed a business combination agreement that values the combined company at US$573 million. The transaction is expected to close in late Q2 or early Q3 2021.

The announcement also stated that the merger will result in approximately US$135 million of net proceeds to the combined company’s balance sheet, provided that there would be no purchase price adjustments or redemptions made by Malacca’s public stockholders.

Founded in 2020, AVN operates MNC Play, a fiber-optic broadband and IPTV service provider, aside from its over-the-top (OTT) business Vision+. It is part of Southeast Asia’s integrated media group MNC Group, which operates free-to-air and pay TV broadcast networks in Indonesia and produces local language content.

AVN claimed that Vision+’s growth has outpaced Netflix’s and Disney+’s in the Indonesian market, with 32 million monthly active users and more than 1.6 million paid subscribers.

AVN also claimed to have access to a library of more than 300,000 hours of content, more than 100,000 of which are video-on-demand ready. These include MNC’s library of local content, which is popular in Indonesia, and localized global franchises such as The Voice, Indonesian Idol, The X Factor, Rising Star, and MasterChef, among others.

Meanwhile, MSA is a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Kenneth Ng, founder and managing partner of asset management firm Ark Pacific Capital Management, and Stanley Wang, founder and managing director of K2 Venture Capital.

Correction (March 24, 2021 16:00pm): The article earlier incorrectly mentioned that Vision+ claims to have 3.2 million monthly active subscribers.