AsiaInfo Holdings Inc.'s wholly-owned Chengdu subsidiary has inked a deal to buy a majority stake in a Chinese company that provides software services to the cable industry.

AsiaInfo Technologies (Chengdu) Inc. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority ownership stake in Hangzhou Zhongbo Software Technology Company Limited for an undisclosed sum.

"We are excited to announce this strategic acquisition marking the first step of our expansion into the cable industry," stated Steve Zhang, AsiaInfo's president and CEO. "Since the beginning of 2010, the government has placed a greater emphasis on the convergence of the telecom, cable and Internet industries in China, setting a goal of 'one province one network' by the end of this year. With over 2,000 cable TV operators in China, provinces are racing to consolidate a fragmented cable industry and establish integrated IT billing, CRM and OSS systems. Hangzhou Zhongbo is an experienced player in this vertical, with established relationships with over 20 operators, enabling us to readily seize upon the emerging opportunities in China's cable industry."

AsiaInfo will hold an 80% ownership stake in Hangzhou Zhongbo. With approximately 90 employees, of which over 90% are engineers, Hangzhou Zhongbo serves more than 20 cable operators, including Jiangsu Cable Company, the world's second largest cable operator in terms of number of subscribers.