Tech media group YeaH1 divests 51% stake in multimedia group STV

YeaH1 Group, a leading tech media firm in Vietnam, has announced the divestment of nearly 2.3 million shares, equivalent to 51.19% of multimedia group STV’s charter capital.

The transfer will be made in the first half of this year, the group said without mentioning the buyers.

After completion, STV and its subsidiaries and affiliates will no longer be subsidiaries or affiliates of YeaH1, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as YEG.

The company had sold 10 million shares of STV Production Co., Ltd., or a 100% stake, to STV Group for VND10 billion ($400,720).

YeaH1's divestment has come as a surprise, considering that it had bought the STV shares only in the second half of 2022.

STV owns two cable channels, StyleTV and InfoTV, which contributed 25% of the group’s revenue in 2022. YeaH1 said it had purchased the STV shares to develop its television business and production of major TV programs.

Focusing on reality TV shows has been a strategic move by YeaH1 initiated in 2022. In 2023, the group produced "Chi Dep Dap Gio Re Song" (Beautiful sister riding the wind and waves), attracting 700 million video views on multiple platforms and more than 6 billion views measured from related hashtags.

The program hit Top #1 Rating after being broadcast on Vietnam Television channel VTV3, became Top #1 topic of discussion on social networks and was a Top #3 WeChoice nominee for the "TV Show of the Year" award.

It won the "Impressive Entertainment Program" prize at VTV Awards 2023.

Ngo Thi Van Hanh, CEO of YeaH1, had said earlier that producing high-quality programs had become a key pillar of the firm’s strategy after its restructuring.

She said the firm’s focus on the television segment will continue because it accounted for more than 30% of its advertisement revenue.

In March 2024, the group signed a strategic cooperation agreement in the field of media, production and distribution of high-quality content with MangoTV - a leader in the industry in China with large-scale entertainment programs.

Under the deal, in addition to the "Chi Dep Dap Gio Re Song" series, YeaH1 and MangoTV will cooperate in producing two more series, “Me Sieu Nha” (Super Mom) and "Anh Trai Vuot Ngan Chong Gai" (The Brother Who Overcame Thousands of Thorns).

On April 3 in Hanoi, the group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and TikTok Vietnam to telecast reality show "HaHa Nong Dan" (Haha Farmer), the Vietnamese version of the the original “Haha Farmer” series, which is very popular in China, The show is produced by MangoTV and broadcast exclusively on Hunan Television.

The Vietnamese show is expected to air in the fourth quarter of this year.

YeaH1 is a tech media group with three main segments – traditional media, digital media and digital commerce on social platforms.

The group focuses on building original content, music shows, and reality TV shows on television channels; creating original content published on social media channels like Facebook, TikTok and YouTube; and producing the Shoppertainment program.

After a period of losses in 2019-2020 after a controversy involving YouTube in March 2019, the group's business results have gradually improved over the last three years.

YouTube had claimed that SPRINGme Pte. Ltd, a Thailand-based company indirectly owned by Yeah1 (16.93 percent), had violated its policies with some of its channel management activities.

In 2023 alone, its revenue reached VND411 billion ($16.46 million), a year-on-year increase of 31% while its after-tax profits for parent company shareholders was VND27 billion ($1.08 million), nearly 2.5 times that of 2022. YeaH1 attributed the outcome to strong growth in channel advertising, content copyright and advertising on digital platforms.

YEG closed Monday at VND9,000 ($3.06) per share.