Bertelsmann ditches public sale of French broadcaster M6

Bertelsmann has known as off the public sale of its French tv broadcaster M6 regardless of receiving a number of “enticing” bids backed by billionaires after regulatory calls for left too slim a window to finish the sale.

The choice by Europe’s largest media group to desert the sale is one other setback for chief government Thomas Rabe after his first alternative of promoting M6 to bigger French broadcaster TF1 fell via due to opposition from competitors regulators.

Rabe’s back-up plan was a quick-fire public sale that started final week. However an impediment quickly emerged — M6’s broadcast licence is up for renewal subsequent yr which might require any sale to be accomplished earlier than the registration date in January.

Rabe stated given the uncertainties it was proper for Bertelsmann’s RTL to carry its stake in M6, which stays worthwhile. “We’ve examined the market and acquired enticing gives, however the timetable is just too tight due to the licence renewal course of and thus authorized dangers are too excessive,” he stated.

Current bidders for M6 included the Czech investor Daniel Křetínský; a joint supply from telecoms billionaire Xavier Niel and the Silvio Berlusconi-backed conglomerate MediaForEurope. A consortium of French entrepreneurs together with maritime transport tycoon Rodolphe Saadé, Stéphane Courbit of FL Leisure, and investor Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière additionally bid.

Bertelsmann determined to desert the method as a result of it was unable to deal with how a brand new purchaser would renew M6’s licence earlier than it expires in Might. Below French guidelines, the primary shareholder would want to formally apply by January, which might be too tight a timetable for the sale of the enterprise to be accomplished.

The preliminary bids got here in round €20 per share, which might have valued Bertelsmann’s 48.3 per cent stake in M6 at round €1bn-€1.2bn. A number of the bidders had been urgent the vendor to guard them from the dangers implied by the licence renewal course of.

Rabe was in Paris on Friday to satisfy regulators and officers within the Élysée Palace to see if they might alter the schedule or introduce some flexibility into the licence renewal course of, however he was rebuffed, stated an individual conversant in the matter.

Rabe’s technique has lengthy been to construct “nationwide media champions” which have the dimensions to carry their floor in opposition to international streaming providers reminiscent of Netflix and Disney. However it’s unclear how that could possibly be achieved with out regulators dropping objections to tie-ups between the most important nationwide broadcasters.

“We’ve been a loyal shareholder of M6 for 35 years, and we’ll proceed to be. We’ll search alternatives to construct a media group of dimension to compete with US platforms,” Rabe added. “M6 may be very effectively run, has achieved document outcomes final yr and has important strategic worth as demonstrated.”