There has been a fresh development in the ongoing Kirch saga with reports stating that Haim Saban has re-entered the bidding for the indebted media group.
This latest twist comes despite the fact that Henrich Bauer Verlag had agreed a deal to take control of KirchMedia (see
Bauer Consortium Takes KirchMedia). However, the publishing giant is believed to be stalling after seeing profit forecasts for the ProSiebenSAT1 broadcast group. Its interest in RTL2 could also attract the attention of German competition authorities.
Saban, a renowned US media tycoon, was involved at the start of the auction (see Seven Bids In For KirchMedia), but US diplomatic pressure has been applied and he has apparently raised his bid to E2 billion in an attempt to trump Bauer.
