Spanish telecoms incumbent Telefonica is allegedly holding early stage talks with media group Prisa over the potential acquisition of its controlling stake in Spanish satellite pay-TV provider Canal+, according to local reports.
El Confidencial claims…
Spanish telecoms incumbent Telefonica is allegedly holding early stage talks with media group Prisa over the potential acquisition of its controlling stake in Spanish satellite pay-TV provider Canal+, according to local reports.
El Confidencial claims that with Prisa again close to defaulting on some of its €3.1bn debt, the company has commenced negotiations over a potential sale of its majority 56% stake in Canal+, which was formerly called Digital+.
Telefonica would not comment on the reports, while Prisa was not available for comment at the time of going to press.
Telefonica has made no secret of its desire to purchase Canal+. Back in 2008, it made a joint bid for the company alongside French media giant Vivendi, majority owner of the French pay-TV group Canal+. The offer was rejected by Prisa as it did not meet its original asking price of €3.5bn. Despite Prisa subsequently lowering this to closer to €2.5bn, a deal could still not be struck.
However, with Prisa’s total debt close to €5bn, the company agreed to a partial sale of its lucrative satellite broadcaster at the end of 2009. Telefonica snapped up a 21% stake for €470m in cash and debt, while Gestevision Telecinco, a Spanish private television company and unit of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset, purchased a 22% holding for around €253m. Telefonica then upped its stake to match Mediaset’s in March 2010.
Prisa itself is 57.1% owned by US-based special purpose acquisition company Liberty Acquisition, with the Polanco family holding a 30.05% and the remainder freefloat.
In June 2012, Telefonica purchased €100m of convertible bonds in Prisa. The bonds convert to common shares automatically on their maturity in 2014 and would give Telefonica a stake of 5-6%.
