Telia Company has entered into an agreement to sell its TV & Media business, including the TV4 and MTV brands in Sweden and Finland respectively, to Schibsted Media at an enterprise value of SEK 6.55 billion (€0.59bn) on a cash and debt-free basis. Telia says the agreement is in line with its “active portfolio management […]
Europe’s two giant aerospace companies are looking to merge their satellite-related businesses. Airbus Defence & Space and Thales Alenia Space are in ‘nonbinding’ talks about merging their two divisions. One third of Thales Alenia is owned by Italy’s Leonardo (and Leonardo also controls two-thirds of Telespazio). Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury, speaking at the Airbus […]
CosmoBlue Media, the global entertainment company, has announced the acquisition of YouLook.tv as its primary AVuD brand. YouLook.tv will now encompass all of CosmoBlue Media’s AVoD and FAST services, reinforcing its position in the rapidly growing ad-supported streaming market, particularly in the Nordics and internationally. Financial terms were not disclosed. YouLook.tv has successfully launched multiple […]
It’s not been a good month for European satellite operators. Recent weeks have seen Paris-based Eutelsat suffer negative comments and a much-depressed share price. Now it is Luxembourg’s SES which is hurting. Ratings agency Moody’s cut its outlook on SES to “negative” (from “stable”) and that the operator’s long-term debt (rated Baa3) would be “under […]
Saudi Arabia is to invest $1 billion (€0.95bn) in DAZN and a forming new JV with the sports streaming service owned by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, as the country doubles up its bet on the global sports market. Surj Sports Investment, the sporting arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), will acquire a “single-digit” minority […]
Mediaocean has closed its acquisition of Innovid, first announced in November 2024, and is now merging it with Flashtalking to create a “global, independent, omnichannel ad tech platform for the world’s top brands, agencies, and publishers”. By harnessing AI, automation, and a massive global dataset, the new entity aims to enhance end-to-end workflows, delivering more […]
United Group, the Southeastern European telco majority-owned by BC Partners, has reached an agreement to sell SBB doo Belgrade, a pay-TV, broadband and fixed telephone services provider in Serbia, to e& PPF Telecom. United Group has also agreed to sell Eon TV International (the holding company of the NetTV Plus business) and its sports broadcasting […]
Fox has acquired Red Seat Ventures, a provider of podcasting support services. Among Red Seat’s clients are Megyn Kelly, whose show streams on YouTube and runs on SiriusXM, and Tucker Carlson, who was ousted by Fox in 2023. Bill O’Reilly, another former Fox star whose cuts were in 2017, is also with Red Seat. Founded […]
Armand Musey, a well-regarded financial and valuation consultant at Summit Ridge Group, speaking on February 5th at the Smallsat Symposium held at Mountain View, California, was blunt in his view of recent mergers involving European satellite operators. He delivered a pessimistic report, saying: “The big, large space companies are entering into a deep, dark desert […]
BT has reached an agreement for the sale of its Irish wholesale and enterprise business unit to Speed Fibre Group. The transaction is subject to customary conditions including competition approval and is expected to complete in 2025. The sale of BT Communications Ireland (BTCIL) includes BT’s domestic network infrastructure, over 400 customers, and associated teams […]