US$ 175 Million for Nexian Group, Says Spice

Affinity group, which handles mobile device distribution and cellular connection distribution from major Indonesian operators has been acquired by Spice i2i for $175 million. The deal which will be finalized soon includes Indonesia's largest mobile phone company, Nexian. Spice i2i is one of the largest telecommunication groups in South East Asia.

Spice i2i was known as Media Ring Ltd. before itself was acquired by India's Spice Group and had its name changed. Last year Spice i2i also acquired NewTel Corporation, the second largest handset producer in Thailand, for $22 million. Additionally, Spice is also a majority owner of Malaysia-based handset maker and VAS provider Spice CSL.

Affinity Group itself is one of the largest players in the Indonesian mobile industry, targeting the low end market as well as acting as distributor for devices by Motorola, Research In Motion, and HTC as well as providing after sales service. Its revenue in 2010 was estimated at $680 million.

This acquisition marks the latest chapter in which a Singaporean company holds a significant stake in an Indonesian mobile company after SingTel's part ownership in Telkomsel and ST Telemedia's involvement in Indosat before selling its stake to Qatar Telecom.

Translated by Nita Sellya