Telefonica has submitted a binding offer of €725m (US$1bn) for Spanish DTH broadcaster Distribuidora de Television Digital, which trades as Canal+.
The incumbent telco already holds 22% of the pay-TV company and is now looking to acquire local media…
Telefonica has submitted a binding offer of €725m (US$1bn) for Spanish DTH broadcaster Distribuidora de Television Digital, which trades as Canal+.
The incumbent telco already holds 22% of the pay-TV company and is now looking to acquire local media conglomerate Prisa’s controlling 56% stake.
Prisa confirmed an offer from Telefonica, but added that it was not the only one on the table. The company is evaluating the bid and said it plans to hold an urgent board meeting to decide on the proposals as soon as possible.
Prisa is selling assets to pay down some of its substantial €3bn (US$4.2bn) debt – well above its market capitalisation of €580m (US$808m). Earlier this year the company was said to be looking for €1bn (US$1.4bn) for its shares in Canal+, but no one met that price by a 31 January deadline for binding offers that the company had set.
Al Jazeera, Canal+ France, Liberty Global and News Corp were reported to be eyeing the stake. In March, reports suggested Prisa was looking for €800m (US$1.1bn).
In late February Prisa’s main shareholder reduced its stake in the conglomerate below 30%. This triggered a purchase option that allowed Telefonica or Mediaset – which also owns 22% of Canal+ – to acquire Prisa’s stake in the broadcaster for an undisclosed fixed amount.
However, Telefonica declined to exercise the option, saying at the time it preferred to pursue a takeover outside of the arrangement. It did not say how it intends to finance its offer for Canal+.
The incumbent is looking to bolster its quad play offering in the highly-competitive Spanish market. Rival operator Vodafone has been boosted by the acquisition of cableco Ono for €7.2bn (US$10bn), which will give it a fibre optic network that covers 13 of Spain’s 17 regions, passing 7.2 million homes.
