KKR and Permira win bid for ProSiebenSat.1
The negotiation poker for the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcasting group appears to be over. The consortium of the two financial investors KKR and Permira has won the bid for the German media company, as reported by the Financial Times Deutschland.
The negotiation poker for the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcasting group appears to be over. The consortium of the two financial investors KKR and Permira has won the bid for the German media company, as reported by the Financial Times Deutschland based on "information from circles close to the negotiations". The current ProSiebenSat.1 owners around the US billionaire Haim Saban have decided in favor of the consortium's offer, the report continues. The price is around three billion euros, as dpa learned from negotiating circles on Thursday. The toughest competitor in the race for the broadcasting group was apparently the Turkish Dogan Group right up to the end, while the consortium led by Apax and Goldman had already dropped out early on (see
). Possible merger with SBS According to the Bavarian state government, the buyers want to merge ProSiebenSat.1 with the European TV group SBS to form one of the largest broadcasting groups in Europe. The merger with SBS would create 'a broadcasting group that extends from Scandinavia to Eastern Europe with Munich at its center', said Bavaria's Minister President Edmund Stoiber. Details of a possible merger of SBS and ProSiebenSat.1 have not yet been clarified. According to Stoiber, however, the headquarters should be in Munich.
A merger of SBS and ProSiebenSat.1 would create one of the largest European TV groups. With 19 free-to-air TV stations and 20 pay-TV channels, SBS claims to reach 100 million people in Europe every day.
Saban benefits According to SDA, representatives from politics, media supervision and the workforce welcomed the sale to Permira and KKR. According to information from industry circles, the new owners do not want to pursue a radical austerity course and leave the current management around CEO Guillaume de Posch in office. For the past three years, ProSiebenSat.1 has been owned by a consortium led by US billionaire Haim Saban. At the beginning of the year, the sale to Springer-Verlag failed due to a veto by the competition authorities. A satisfactory solution has now been found for all sides.
For Saban and the financial investors who accompany him, the investment in ProSiebenSat.1 has paid off. They paid around EUR 7.50 per share when they invested a good three years ago. According to industry circles, the purchase price is now EUR 28 to 29 for the ordinary shares. Even if money was still put into the company, Saban and his investors were able to multiply their investment.
Springer is keeping its options open Springer Verlag in Hamburg is keeping all its options open with ProSiebenSat.1. A spokeswoman for the publishing group said that they would sit down with the new majority owners and discuss the future course. Both a sale of the shares and an increase are conceivable. In addition, everything could remain the same. Springer holds 12 percent of both the ordinary and preference shares in ProSiebenSat.1 and has two representatives on the TV group's supervisory board. Springer originally wanted to acquire a majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1 itself. However, the purchase was vetoed by the competition authorities.
). Possible merger with SBS According to the Bavarian state government, the buyers want to merge ProSiebenSat.1 with the European TV group SBS to form one of the largest broadcasting groups in Europe. The merger with SBS would create 'a broadcasting group that extends from Scandinavia to Eastern Europe with Munich at its center', said Bavaria's Minister President Edmund Stoiber. Details of a possible merger of SBS and ProSiebenSat.1 have not yet been clarified. According to Stoiber, however, the headquarters should be in Munich.
A merger of SBS and ProSiebenSat.1 would create one of the largest European TV groups. With 19 free-to-air TV stations and 20 pay-TV channels, SBS claims to reach 100 million people in Europe every day.
Saban benefits According to SDA, representatives from politics, media supervision and the workforce welcomed the sale to Permira and KKR. According to information from industry circles, the new owners do not want to pursue a radical austerity course and leave the current management around CEO Guillaume de Posch in office. For the past three years, ProSiebenSat.1 has been owned by a consortium led by US billionaire Haim Saban. At the beginning of the year, the sale to Springer-Verlag failed due to a veto by the competition authorities. A satisfactory solution has now been found for all sides.
For Saban and the financial investors who accompany him, the investment in ProSiebenSat.1 has paid off. They paid around EUR 7.50 per share when they invested a good three years ago. According to industry circles, the purchase price is now EUR 28 to 29 for the ordinary shares. Even if money was still put into the company, Saban and his investors were able to multiply their investment.
Springer is keeping its options open Springer Verlag in Hamburg is keeping all its options open with ProSiebenSat.1. A spokeswoman for the publishing group said that they would sit down with the new majority owners and discuss the future course. Both a sale of the shares and an increase are conceivable. In addition, everything could remain the same. Springer holds 12 percent of both the ordinary and preference shares in ProSiebenSat.1 and has two representatives on the TV group's supervisory board. Springer originally wanted to acquire a majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1 itself. However, the purchase was vetoed by the competition authorities.
