Advanced Television

Mediaset denies pay-TV deal with Al Jazeera, Canal Plus

April 25, 2014

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Mediaset has played down rumours that a deal has been reached with Al Jazeera and Canal Plus regarding a pay-TV partnership in Italy and Spain.

This follows a report by Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore that a agreement was signed in London with Al Jazeera and Canal Plus (part of Vivendi Group) to enter into due diligence study from May 1st.

The Qatari group, which according to reports is working on the operation via its pay-TV unit BeIn Sports, is being assisted by Barclays, while the French company appointed Deutsche Bank as an advisor. Earlier this year, Mediaset – which intends to take a decision before the summer, entrusted to PriceWaterhouseCoopers the task of preparing vendor due diligence.

In a statement, Mediaset said “no operation has been completed with any partner” and that “the detailed analysis on the project are still in progress and will be reviewed by the boards of Mediaset and Mediaset Espana during the next meetings”.

In December 2013, the Boards of Directors of Mediaset and Mediaset Espana started assessing the possibility of integrating their pay-TV assets (Premium and Digital+), also with a view of initiating an international alliance with other players.

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