ISAT - Officially acquires MNC Play subs

ISAT - Officially acquires MNC Play subs Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (ISAT) has officially acquired parts of MNC Play subs of c.300K as a move to strengthen its FTTH segment that worth IDR878.6bn. In addition to subs acquisition, ISAT is also set to collaborate with Asianet that will manage fixed broadband network. With the acquisition, ISAT will be able to present TV cable service under the brand of Indosat HiFi. (Source: IDX Channel) Comment: We are sanguine that ISAT’s plan for fixed broadband acquisition should lead to accelerated growth on its fixed broadband business. The company eyes to attain 10% of Indonesia’s market share by 2026-2027 which we deem to be achievable especially helped by inorganic expansion. We believe the acquisition should bolster ISAT’s fixed broadband revenue going forward and make a way for FMC that has become new norm in the industry. Over the long run, we believe FMC will achieve better customer loyalty, and bolster infrastructure and operational synergies that should result in better cost efficiency as long as it does not trigger another price wars. On the other hand, FMC penetration will also benefit from 5G technology once its rolled out.