Advanced Television

M&A

Nielsen bought for $16bn

A private equity consortium is to buy Nielsen for $16 billion (€14.3bn). A group of VCs led by Elliott Management and Brookfield Asset Management will pay $28 a share, up 10 per cent on their initial and a 60 per cent premium on the stock before the offer was launched. Taking the business private, the […]

March 29, 2022

Merged TF1, M6 to take control of Salto

Following the May 17th 2021 announcement of the proposed merger between the TF1 and M6 groups, the France Télévisions group expressed its wish, if the merger is completed, to divest its equity interest in Salto (the subscription video on demand service launched in October 2020 and owned in equal shares by France Télévisions, TF1 and […]

March 25, 2022By Colin Mann

Netflix acquires Boss Fight Entertainment

Netflix has announced the acquisition of Boss Fight Entertainment, the mobile game development studio responsible for the popular Dungeon Boss game. “Boss Fight Entertainment was founded in 2013 by David Rippy (CEO), Bill Jackson (CCO), and Scott Winsett (COO), whose work I’ve long admired. This studio’s extensive experience building hit games across genres will help […]

March 25, 2022By Nik Roseveare

Fitch: GES acquisition Neutral for SES rating

SES’s (BBB/Stable) planned acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES), provider of commercial satellite communications to the US government, will have no impact on SES’s ratings, Fitch Ratings says. SES announced March 21st that it had entered into an agreement with Leonardo DRS, a US subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. (BBB-/Stable), to acquire GES for $450 […]

March 24, 2022

Bank approves SES’s DRS acquisition

On March 21st satellite operator SES announced it was buying governmental solutions business DRS Global Enterprise Solutions (GES), a US subsidiary of Italian Leonardo DRS. The $450 million (€408.8m) move has been analysed by investment bank Exane/BNPP which believes there is a “strong strategic rationale” behind the acquisition. Leonardo Chief Executive Alessandro Profumo said the […]

March 24, 2022

SES buys US government solutions business

SES is spending $450 million (€408.8m) to buy DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, a US subsidiary of Italian Leonardo DRS. The transaction, which is expected to be completed during H2/2022 subject to regulatory approvals, the GES business will be combined with SES Government Solutions (SES GS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, which SES says will […]

March 22, 2022By Chris Forrester

Canal+ completes SPI International acquisition

Canal+ Group and SPI International have announced the integration of SPI International within Canal+ Group has now been completed, following the approvals of all competent authorities in all European jurisdictions concerned.     Canal+ Group says that SPI International, a global media company who has significant presence in Europe, will bring opportunities to strengthen its pay-TV offers […]

March 18, 2022

Consortium takes control of Starzplay Arabia

E-Vision, from e& (previously known as Etisalat Group), and ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company, have announced the signing of a binding agreement to acquire a majority equity stake of circa 57 per cent in Starzplay Arabia, an SVoD and streaming service provider in the Middle East and North Africa. The e& led […]

March 17, 2022

FTC OKs Amazon’s MGM buy

Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion (€7.6bn) acquisition of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) after Federal Trade Commission (FTC) passed the deal. European Union regulators signed off on the MGM deal after finding it posed no competition problems. In the US, the deadline for the FTV to challenge passed without the agency taking action. The FTC […]

March 17, 2022

Bank analyses MFE’s Mediaset bid

MFE-MediaForEurope, the Berlusconi-backed broadcaster, has announced a bid for the 44 per cent of Mediaset Spain that it does not own. The bid has an implied price per share of €5.60. MFE is offering cash of €1.86 per Mediaset Spain share, plus 4.5 MFE A shares per MSE share held. The implied value, at close […]

March 17, 2022