Carlton Sells Technicolour For £1.43bn

Carlton Communications has confirmed that it is to sell its film and video division, Technicolour, to Thomson Multimedia. The deal, worth £1.43bn, will be settled by cash and shares, and will give Carlton a 5.5% share in Thomson.

Carlton announced its proposal to sell the division as part of its proposed merger with United (see Carlton/UNM Merged Group Plans For The Future). The merger was eventually blocked by the Competition Commission but the group continued negotiations for the sale and announced an imminent deal last week (see Profits At Carlton On The Up As Ad Revenues Slip).

The disposal will not include Screenvision, the US cinema advertising business which Carlton acquired earlier this year (see Carlton Buys US Cinema Ads Group).

Carlton and Thomson have also agreed to form an alliance in the area of digital and interactive services. Carlton owns 50% of ONdigital and Thomson is a leading manufacturer of digital set top boxes and has digital and interactive interests. As part of the proposed deal, Carlton will invest approximately $15m in TAK, Thomson’s European interactive TV joint venture with Microsoft.

The market responded well to the news with shares in Carlton up 5% to 607p.

Carlton Communications: 020 7663 6363