Advanced Television

M&A

Vivendi ups stake in Telecom Italia

French media group Vivendi has increased its stake in Telecom Italia to 22.8 per cent, a regulatory filing showed, further strengthening its position as the top shareholder in the Italian phone group. The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, dated February 19th, said Vivendi bought shares equivalent to 1.4 per cent of Telecom […]

February 22, 2016

Mediaset “no talks” with Vivendi

Mediaset is not in talks with French media group Vivendi over a sale of the Italian broadcaster’s pay-TV unit, according to a Reuters report. Some Italian newspapers reported on Friday that Vivendi had been discussing a possible deal to acquire Mediaset Premium. But a Mediaset source told Reuters “No talks, nothing new”, adding excellent relations […]

February 19, 2016

ARRIS: “Substantial progress on Pace integration”

Bob Stanzione, ARRIS Chairman and CEO, has said the IP, video and broadband technology specialist has made “substantial progress” on its integration activities following closure of its $2.1 billion (€1.94bn) acquisition of Pace on January 4th. Stanzione made the comments as the company announced preliminary and unaudited Q4 and full year 2015 results which saw […]

February 18, 2016

SiriusXM Canada in take-over?

Pay-radio operator SiriusXM Canada has confirmed that it has been approached in a potential take-over and that it is in early stage talks. A prime contender for a buy-out is Liberty Media which owns a 61 per cent controlling stake in the US operation. Last week saw local reports in Canada that SiriusXM’s major shareholders […]

February 18, 2016By Chris Forrester

Vidooly acquires OTT iCouchApp

Indian video analytics start-up Vidooly has acquired OTT content start-up iCouchApp for an undisclosed sum. As a part of the deal, Vidooly will acquire all of iCouchApp’s assets and Intellectual Property. “Vidooly’s aim is to provide intelligent data on the entire ecosystem of online video. We are already doing that with the likes of YouTube, […]

February 18, 2016

Liberty Global, Vodafone merge Dutch operations

After months of ‘on-off’ speculation and recent confirmation that possible merger talks had recommenced, Liberty Global and Vodafone have confirmed they are to merge their Dutch operations in a 50-50 joint venture they say will create a national unified communications provider in the Netherlands with complementary strengths across video, broadband, mobile and B2B services. They […]

February 16, 2016By Colin Mann

Paraguay: Millicom to acquire TV Cable Paraná

Millicom has boosted its cable expansion plans with the announcement that it will acquire TV Cable Paraná, the leading cable platform in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay’s second largest city. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Millicom’s Home brand Tigo Star already provides pay-TV and broadband in most other urban regions in Paraguay. Tigo is […]

February 15, 2016

United Internet takes 25.1% stake in Tele Columbus

German cable MSO Tele Columbus has revealed that German Internet services company United Internet has acquired a stake of 9.8 per cent in Tele Columbus’s issued share capital, and signed an agreement to acquire a further 15.31 per cent stake, subject to antitrust approval. If approval is granted, United Internet would hold a 25.11 per […]

February 11, 2016

Eutelsat/Viasat JV raises M&A questions

February 9th saw a major announcement from Eutelsat and California-based ViaSat which sees the two satellite operators coming together in a strategic partnership designed to promote and develop satellite-delivered broadband over Europe. One well-placed analyst thinks it could be the harbinger of even greater co-operation between the two, and even mentions the possibility of a […]

February 11, 2016By Chris Forrester

Opera agrees €1.1bn Chinese takeover

Consumer Internet and mobile advertising company Opera Software has reached an agreement with Golden Brick Silk Road (Shenzhen) Equity Investment Fund II LLP whereby Golden Brick, as part of a Consortium, will launch, through a directly or indirectly wholly owned special purpose vehicle, a recommended voluntary cash offer for 100 per cent of the shares […]

February 10, 2016