Altice confirms Media Capital acquisition
July 14, 2017
By Colin Mann
Having confirmed on June 26th that it was in discussions regarding such a move, multinational cable, fibre, telecommunications, content and media company Altice has entered into a definitive agreement with Promotora de Informaciones, S.A (Prisa) to acquire Prisa’s 94.7 per cent stake in Media Capital SGPS, SA (Media Capital).
Media Capital is a leading Portuguese media group with audience leadership positions in both TV and radio. Media Capital, which also owns the largest Portuguese content producer Plural, reported in 2016 revenue of €174 million and EBITDA of €41.5 million.
The acquisition of Media Capital forms part of Altice’s global convergence strategy and follows its path in France, the US and Israel. Altice is committed to continuing Media Capital’s open platform in the Portuguese market while ensuring its success in a rapidly evolving media and digital landscape with new challenges and opportunities:
- Invest into digital expansion
- Develop new TV channels and formats
- Launch new, innovative services
- Accelerate investments into Portuguese content
- Enhance reach of key channels, e.g. TVI24
- Use Plural as the global content production hub
- Export Portuguese content to other Altice territories, especially to France and to the US
Altice wants to deliver more content to all Portuguese consumers in a digital world and as such offer more choice focused on local production and formats. The integrity and editorial independence of Media Capital will serve as a guiding principle, as is the case for all of Altice’s global media businesses.
The acquisition underscores Altice strong commitment to Portugal, which already serves as the global technology hub for Altice Labs. Importantly, it will significantly strengthen Portugal’s media sector, which continues to see increasing international competition, particularly from global Internet operators.
The acquisition values Media Capital at an enterprise value of €440 million, subject to customary debt, debt-like and working capital adjustments, and is expected to be immediately accretive to Altice’s operating free cash flow before taking into account any benefits of the transaction. Closing of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions including approval by Prisa shareholders and regulatory approval.
In accordance with Portuguese securities law, Altice has announced the launching of a mandatory takeover offer for the remaining 5.3 per cent of Media Capital which is not owned by Prisa. Following the consummation of the mandatory takeover offer, Altice intends to delist Media Capital from Euronext Lisbon.
“We are extremely excited about the acquisition of Media Capital.,” declared Michel Combes, CEO of Altice. “It is a unique opportunity to invest more capital in a market which has been our home for many years. We want to capture the many growth opportunities Media Capital offers not just in Portugal but also internationally based on an ambitious agenda focused on more digital, more content and more innovation. This strategy will bring benefits to all Portuguese media consumers while strengthening the Portuguese media landscape in the context of an increasingly global competition.”