RTL to sell Dutch subsidiary to DPG Media for 1.1 bln euros in cash (updated)

Bertelsmann SE & Co KGaA

15/12/2023 10:06

(Adds background in paragraph 2, RTL CEO in paragraphs 3-4)
       BERLIN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - European broadcaster RTL
Group said on Friday that it would sell its Dutch subsidiary RTL
Nederland to Belgium-based DPG Media in a deal worth 1.1 billion
euros ($1.21 billion) that will also see the two companies enter
into a strategic partnership. 
    The deal comes nearly a year after Dutch competition
authorities blocked RTL's plans to acquire rival Talpa, saying
the combination would be too dominant in the Dutch market.
        To be able to invest and compete with the likes of
international streaming platforms such as Netflix  NFLX.O  and
Disney  DIS.N , companies have to get bigger, RTL Group Chief
Executive Thomas Rabe told Reuters.
  
        "If we cannot do this scaling through consolidation
ourselves, then we are prepared to take other paths - such as
this sale in the Netherlands," he said. 
  
    Subject to regulatory approvals, the all-cash transaction is
expected to close around mid-2024 and will result in a profit of
approximately 800 million euros, according to the RTL Group. 
    "Together with our leading TV brands VTM and RTL Belgium, we
will be able to build a group that has the necessary scale to
invest in the digital transformation of television," said DPG
Media Group executive chairman Christian Van Thillo in a
statement.  
    DPG Media controls several national and regional Dutch
newspapers and also owns the top-selling Donald Duck comic, as
well as a number of popular women's magazines.
    
($1 = 0.9098 euros)

 (Reporting by Klaus Lauer and Toby Sterling, Writing by Miranda
Murray, Editing by Rachel More and Linda Pasquini)
 ((Miranda.Murray@thomsonreuters.com;))