Advanced Television

Clessidra, H3G front-runners for Telecom Italia TV

November 2, 2012

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

The initial round of bids in the sale of Telecom Italia Media’s TV assets (La7, MTV Italia and digital multiplexes) closed on November 1st.

According to Italian daily Milano Finanza, private equity fund Clessidra, which is accompanied by advisor Bain&Co, submitted the highest bid amounting to €330 million for the whole package.

Mobile telephony operator H3G/3 Italia, which was accompanied by advisor Roland Berger and the banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs, submitted a bid of around €300 million.

The other interested parties submitted much smaller bids. Discovery, which is accompanied by Morgan Stanley, offered €100 million for only La7, while Cairo Communication with advisor Lazard was also interested in only La7.

A new round of consultations will now start on November 5th, while binding bids should be submitted by November 19th. Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore has also reported that H3G is asking for a postponement, allegedly because it needs to conduct a further analysis of the financial results and long-term perspectives on the assets.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Business, M&A