TOKYO -- Japanese teleshopping company Tri-Stage will take a 15% stake in Thai peer TV Direct, becoming its leading shareholder in a bid to make further inroads in the growing Southeast Asian market.
The company is expected to pay about 1 billion yen ($9.45 million) for the outstanding shares on Friday. TV Direct, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, rang up 3.06 billion baht ($87.2 million) in sales in 2015. Tri-Stage will provide Japanese cosmetics and other miscellaneous items to be sold by TV Direct. The company also plans to send a director to TV Direct and turn it into an equity-method affiliate.
