Nine acquires HBO’s Quickflix stake
July 21, 2014
By Colin Mann
Australian online entertainment service Quickflix has confirmed that Australian media group Nine Entertainment has taken a minority stake in the company through a deal with US television giant Home Box Office.
Quickflix said Nine had reached an agreement to acquire all of HBO’s redeemable convertible preference shares. The shares can be converted into an 8 per cent stake in Quickflix.
HBO spent A$10 million on its investment in Quickflix in February 2012, soon after signing a licensing agreement with the operator.
The Australian Financial Review reported that Nine paid almost A$1 million for the shares.
Nine described the investment as “small and opportunistic” suggesting it offers an attractive risk-reward profile.
News of the investment comes as reports strengthen that Netflix is to expand its online entertainment service to Australia. Despite the service not being available in the territory, recent research suggests that Netflix is already the second most popular subscription media platform in the country, despite actively geo-blocking Australians from its online service.