Advanced Television

M&A

Fremantle acquires majority stake in Beach House

Fremantle has acquired a majority stake investment in one of Asia’s largest independent TV and Film production companies, Beach House Pictures. Financial details were not disclosed. Founded in 2005 by producers Donovan Chan and Jocelyn Little, Beach House Pictures (BHP) specialises in creating and co-financing original IP across scripted and non-scripted content, entertainment and brand-funded […]

February 8, 2024

MultiChoice rejects Canal+ offer

MultiChoice, the South African pay-TV broadcaster, has rejected a takeover bid from Canal+. Canal+, the Vivendi-owned pay-TV provider, had tabled a non-binding purchase bid but MultiChoice indicated that it felt the value of its business was undervalued. With a market capitalisation of $2.15 billion, MultiChoice turned down the Canal+ offer. In a statement given to […]

February 5, 2024

Zee seeks arbitration in Sony merger

Two important elements are keeping the Zee/Sony merger on the front pages of India’s business newspapers. The first is that Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has rejected an emergency petition for arbitration to happen. The request was made by Sony. Zee, in response, says that it will now look for an Indian arbitration of the […]

February 5, 2024By Chris Forrester

CNMC OKs Zegona’s Vodafone acquisition

The Spanish regulatory body CNMC has given its go-ahead to the acquisition of Vodafone Spain by the UK’s Zegona, a deal valued at €5 billion, ruling that the consolidation “does not significantly modify the structure of the affected markets”. With ithe green light, along with the EU’s blessing, Zegona now faces the government’s approval, to […]

February 2, 2024From David Del Valle in Madrid

Canal+ seeks full control of MultiChoice

Canal+, owned by French media group Vivendi, has made an offer to acquire all the shares it does not already own in South Africa’s MultiChoice Group. Any potential deal – which has been submitted to the MultiChoice board of directors – would be worth in the region of €1.6 billion and, according to Canal+, would […]

February 1, 2024

Paramount end game?

It seems like we’ve been waiting for ‘the other shoe to drop’ and someone to buy Paramount for a long time. Even the group’s own CEO holds staff ‘town halls’ openly discussing likely bids while enjoining them to concentrate on their jobs and his own growth plans. That will be a good trick, if they […]

February 1, 2024

Zee, Sony latest moves

India’s National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which has been closely involved in the Zee Entertainment and Sony merger negotiations, has accepted a Petition from a shareholder in Zee which calls for the merger to go ahead. The Petition from Mad Men Film Ventures, a shareholder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL), directing Sony Pictures Network India, […]

February 1, 2024By Chris Forrester

Byron Allen makes $14bn offer for Paramount

Byron Allen, the US media mogul, has made a $14.3 billion (€13.2bn) bid to buy all of the outstanding shares in Paramount Global. The proposal, totalling $30bn funding, could see Allen Media Group (AMG) take on Paramount’s existing $15 billion of debt. “Byron Allen did submit a bid on behalf of AMG and its strategic […]

January 31, 2024By Chris Forrester

Zee considering criminal case against Sony

The fallout from the collapsed $10 billion merger between Zee Entertainment and Sony’s India broadcasting interests (Bangla Entertainment) continues to have serious ramifications. Both sides have said that litigation will commence, and Sony already has an arbitration claim filed in Singapore claiming $90 million of what it alleges are contractual obligations from Zee. However, Subhash […]

January 30, 2024By Chris Forrester

Eutelsat’s OneWeb merger goes sour

Eutelsat was hammered on the Paris stock exchange in early trading on January 29th, instantly falling 15 per cent as the Bourse opened. Eutelsat had issued a trading update and the news, as far as OneWeb was concerned, was not good. Eutelsat had owned OneWeb for just four trading months which had enabled a “deep […]

January 30, 2024