French broadcaster TF1 has confirmed that is interested in acquiring Kirch Media, following speculation in yesterday’s Financial Times newspaper (see TF1 Offers Low-End Bid For Kirch Media). The group says that it has sent a preliminary and non-binding letter to UBS Warburg, Kirch’s bankers, expressing interest in the acquisition of some of the group’s assets.
The E2.0 billion price quoted by the
FT yesterday represents only a possible price based on ‘very limited’ information provided by UBS Warburg; it is not a formal offer, says TF1.
Kirch Media is the leading distributor of sports broadcasting rights in Europe and holder of the largest rights library in the world, although mostly in German language programmes. ABN Amro analysts believe that TF1 will be primarily interested in the sports trading capabilities of the company, as well as access to the German TV market; Kirch Media operates ProSiebenSAT.1, Germany’s largest broadcaster.
TF1 says that it will inform the market in due course on the outcome of any discussions, adding that it is continuing to adopt a long-standing policy of remaining cautious over its choice of investments.
