SBS Broadcastng Completes Acquisition of Nordic Premium Pay Television Provider C More Group AB
SBS Broadcastng Completes Acquisition of Nordic Premium Pay Television Provider C More Group AB
LUXEMBOURG, March 8/PRNewswire/ --
- SBS to Operate Canal+ and C More Premium Pay Channels in Nordic Region
SBS Broadcasting S.A. (NASDAQ: SBTV; Euronext Amsterdam N.V.:
SBS) announced today that it has completed the previously announced
acquisition of C More Group AB for Euro 269.6 million in cash. The purchase
price includes approximately Euro 20 million in cash in the C More Group at
December 31, 2004.
The acquisition was cleared by the Swedish and Norwegian
competition authorities last week, allowing the transaction to be completed
earlier than initially anticipated.
C More Group is the leading Nordic pay television entertainment provider
with over 770,000 subscribers in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. The
only provider of both premium sports and premium movies in the Nordic region
under the Canal+ and C More brands, C More Group enjoys market leading
positions in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The channels are distributed
primarily by direct-to-home satellite (DTH), cable, broadband and
increasingly by digital terrestrial transmission (DTT). In 2004, C More Group
had revenues of Euro 181 million from channel subscriptions and other
sources. C More has had positive net income for the last three years and has
no financial debt.
The purchase price was financed in part with EUR210 million
borrowed from ABN Amro Bank under a EUR300 million six-month unsecured bridge
facility with the remainder funded from the Company's cash balances. The
Company intends to repay the bridge facility through a syndicated bank loan
or by issuing debt securities or both, subject to market conditions.
SBS is a European commercial television and radio broadcasting
company with operations in Western and Central Europe. Countries where SBS
currently has broadcasting assets include: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark,
Finland, Greece, Hungary, The Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Sweden.
For further information visit: www.sbsbroadcasting.com
Source: SBS Broadcasting
Contact: Investors: Michael Smargiassi /Jon Lesko, Brainerd Communicators, Tel: +1-212-986-6667 Press: Jeff Pryor, Pryor Associates, Tel: +1-818-338-3555 Catriona Cockburn, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, Tel: +44-207-282-2924
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