Hong Kong's AID Partners acquires YouTube partner network

The listed GP said in a regulatory filing that a wholly-owned subsidiary had agreed to take a 50.01% interest in any.TV, which operates the network. The business is currently controlled by George Vanous, who founded it in 2013.

Freedom! Network is licensed by Google to help individual channel owners on YouTube grow their viewer bases. In return for a 5-40% share of a channel's revenue, the company provides a string of value-added services, including access to professional music libraries, graphics and branding kits, audience development training, creator collaborations, and support with monetization and sales.

Since inception, it has signed up more than 177,000 channel partners and 211 million subscribers, generating 46 billion aggregate views. Freedom! Network's revenue came to $20.1 million for the 12 months ended March 2016, up from $12.9 million the previous year. However, the company slipped to a net loss of $860,000 from a profit of $1.65 million.

"The board considers that videos will soon become the prevailing form of media and will make up a substantial portion of the global internet traffic by 2019. Moreover, the change in viewing habits led by millennials will cause a paradigm shift from traditional TV to digital video, which is catalyzed by the advancement in mobile technology and the evolution of user-generated content," AID Partners said in a statement.

The PE firm targets investments across mobile and internet, media and entertainment, consumables, retail and fashion. Previous deals include the acquisition of HMV's operations in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as its licenses in mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. Japan's World Innovation Lab subsequently took a stake in HMV Asia, which then listed in Hong Kong through a reverse merger.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Media
• Hong Kong (China)
• AID Partners
• TMT