The race for the assets of stricken media group Kirch appears to have come to a head following news that Bauer Verlag is to withdraw from the bidding process.
The publisher’s decision leaves US media magnate, Haim Saban, as the only remaining bidder for KirchMedia, which has a majority stake in ProSiebenSAT1, Germany’s largest free to air broadcaster.
Bauer entered a deal with Kirch late last year (see Bauer Consortium Takes KirchMedia) but a disagreement over film rights delayed matters and Saban, backed by French broadcaster TF1, rekindled his interest in January (see Saban Back In The Running For Kirch).
Both groups were thought to have offered €2 billion but Saban has since raised the stakes causing Bauer to exit the fray. “We have always said that we would not take part in a bidding war,” said their spokesman Andreas Fritzenkoetter in a statement yesterday.
