The bid for Eutelsat by businessman Patrick Drahi, rejected by the satellite company, might well trigger other bidders to enter the picture. Sami Kassab, equity analyst at investment bank Exane/BNPP, poses some interesting suggestions as to potential rival bidders to Drahi. Kassab argues that the key to anyone’s success in the validation of the bid […]
India media giant ZEE, en route to a merger with Sony India, is fighting to hold onto its CEO Punit Goenka. Invesco, a major investor in ZEE, while supporting the merger is demanding that Goenka be removed along with some of the Zee board members. ZEE on October 2nd confirmed that it had filed a […]
Sony Pictures Television has sold its entire network channel portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe to Antenna Group. The deal covers 22 pay-TV channels and two OTT services in 12 territories. The deal will see Antenna Group take control of the Central and Eastern European AXN, Sony and Viasat pay-TV channels and on-demand services. The […]
Eutelsat shareholders had a prosperous day on September 30th when the company’s share price rose dramatically by an initial 15.6 per cent (to €11.97), just below Patrick Drahi’s reported €12 bid. Eutelsat confirmed receipt of the bid, and rejected the approach. This suggests either Drahi doesn’t have the backing of state-backed BPI or else – […]
Fremantle has confirmed the completion of the acquisition of 12 production labels in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark from Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group). The purchase, first announced in July, will see the distinct labels, across the three content pillars of Entertainment, Drama & Film and Documentaries, plus branded content and event management, come under […]
Telecoms tycoon Patrick Drahi, having earlier this month bought a large slice (12.1 per cent) of BT, has made a bid to buy Eutelsat. Drahi is said to have offered a €2 (17 per cent) premium over Eutelsat’s current €10.35 share price. Drahi controls the cellular and cable business Altice. A September 30th statement from […]
Communications and entertainment company Liberty Latin America and integrated telecommunications service provider América Móvil have agreed to combine their respective Chilean operations, VTR and Claro Chile, to form a 50:50 joint venture. The proposed transaction combines the complementary operations of VTR, a leading provider of high-speed consumer fixed products, such as broadband and pay-TV services, […]
The UK government has reaffirmed its intention to review the ownership model and remit of Channel 4 (C4), but the proposed privatisation of the publicly-owned broadcaster would significantly impact the UK’s independent production sector, suggests Ampere Analysis’s Neil Anderson. In an Insight post, the analyst notes that the UK’s television industry’s international success is widely […]
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), a division of ViacomCBS, has announced the closing of the previously announced acquisition of Chilevisión from WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T. The acquisition includes Chilevisión’s FTA television network, which is Chile’s most watched television channel this year to-date, with an average of 8.3 points of HH rating and the largest growth, […]
Netflix has announced the acquisition of Night School Studio as the streaming platform continues work on its gaming service. Founded by Sean Krankel and Adam Hines in 2014, Night School Studio is best known for their critically acclaimed debut game, the mystery adveture OXENFREE. In a blog post, Mike Verdu, Netflix VP of Game Development, […]