Premiere, the German pay-TV operator, said yesterday that takeover talks were proceeding smoothly and it expects to have a new owner confirmed by the end of March.
Creditor banks have agreed to waive E750 million in loans in return for a 20% share and the remaining stake will be distributed among a number of individuals including Premiere chief executive George Kofler.
The future of KirchMedia is less certain following the late intervention of Haim Saban in the auction process (see Saban Back In The Running For Kirch). The US media investor is understood to have met with Kirch officials to discuss a counter bid to Bauer Verlag’s E2 billion offer.