Company sued by Sky sold for $12.5m to Chinese buyer

My Box founder Krish Reddy says his company's court case with Sky Television will not affect sale. Photo / Alan Gibson

Controversial Kiwi firm My Box has been sold to a Chinese firm for $12.5 million.

The Hamilton-based firm sold android TV boxes with pre-loaded apps that gave customers access to hundreds of international channels for a one-off fee of $379.

Sky TV took the company to court this year claiming its devices were pre-loaded with piracy software that infringed copyright laws, which My Box denied.

My Box founder Krish Reddy would not disclose the name of the buyer but said as part of the deal, the company had 90 days to wrap up New Zealand operations.

After this, all units would still have the same content but would be sold out of China and cost would vary.

The ongoing Sky TV case wouldn't affect continued business, Reddy said.

"Sky's case against us is claiming $1.4m. Their claim has never been for us to close business," he said. "We are confident we will win the case."

Reddy said all units sold in New Zealand and internationally would continue to work and would still have the same content and pay-per-view events such as boxing, V8 racing and rugby.

At the time of the court case, Reddy said the company was 100 per cent legal in all of its dealings.

"The service simply allows customers to access high-quality streams of their own accord," Reddy said.

"The fact that the box is set up to allow customers to find certain streams does not hold My Box accountable for what they may find. Channels such as sports, movies and entertainments are all accessible via the streams My Box makes available."

My Box is sold in more than 11 countries, and sales soared last year, Reddy said.

"I'm a small company who is trying to make TV affordable. Rattling a giant like Sky's cage was always the intention," he said.

Auckland High Court judge Warwick Smith reserved his judgment in the My Box case.

My Box is not the only company Sky has sued for selling similar technology, commonly known as Kodi boxes.

Last year, Sky also filed papers against Christchurch company Fibre TV NZ for its sale of Kodi boxes.