TopTV’s shareholders have voted in favour of China’s StarTimes, despite a last-minute bid by local consortium Dynamic TV, which was financially backed by Multichoice.

This came to light earlier this week in a business rescue plan meeting between TopTV parent company On Digital Media and its creditors and shareholders.

The vast majority of TopTV’s shareholders, which include the Industrial Development Corporation, Development Bank of Southern Africa, the National Empowerment Fund and European satellite operator SES, voted in favour of the rescue plan initially presented by StarTimes.

StarTimes and its African expansion

StarTimes, which was established in 1988 in China, says on its website that it has over 7 million subscribers worldwide.

The StarTimes website further says that the company “started developing its African markets in 2002.”

Today, it operates in 10 African nations with a presence in markets such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Guinea and Kenya.