Spain: DTT sale to be blocked?
December 9, 2021
From David Del Valle in Madrid
The Spanish Administration is set to block Vocento’s sale of its two DTT licences to Squirrel Capital and put them up for auction, according to Spanish daily The Objective.
The Spanish government will reportedly refuse to give its go-ahead to the sale on the grounds that the licences are public with the strategy preventing operators from selling them.
Squirrel Capital recently agreed to buy Vocento’s licences for €18 million, in a deal subject to the government’s approval following Disney’s decision to sell its 20 per cent in the licences.
With the approval now in doubt, these two licences could be put up for auction allowing other operators to bid. This will set a precedent that may also undermine other DTT licence sales.
Meanwhile, Disney plans to pull out of the DTT market and focus on its SVoD platform Disney+