It has been announced that KirchMedia is to be liquidated after creditors were unable to secure a buyer for the insolvent German media group.
The company, which once held TV rights to World Cup football and Formula One, has been in limbo since the collapse of the parent Kirch Group in April 2002 (see
KirchMedia Files For Bankruptcy Signalling The Demise Of The Kirch Empire). Despite considerable interest at different stages from prominent media groups, a sale could not be concluded and KirchMedia’s creditor banks have now opted to pull the plug on the business.
Earlier this year, it seemed that a €2 billion takeover had been agreed with the American billionaire Haim Saban (see Haim Saban Agrees To Buy ProSiebenSat.1). However a dispute over the future of Kirch’s extensive film and TV rights library led to the collapse of the deal, which was made to look less attractive by the recent fall in the value of the dollar against the euro (see Kirch TV Deal Hits The Rocks).
The creditors have decided to retain KirchMedia’s 52.5% stake in the German TV giant ProSiebenSAT1. The broadcaster will receive €300 million in fresh investment, with 50% to come from KirchMedia and the remainder from the creditor banks. It will also gain cheap rights to around 2,000 films from the library. The remaining rights are to be sold off.
