Shares in France’s M6 fell 8% this morning (October 4) after RTL Group cancelled its plan to sell its controlling stake in the TV group.
Bertelsmann-owned RTL Group announced last night that it has decided to keep its 48.3% stake in M6 after its planned merger between the French commercial channel and competitor TF1 collapsed over antitrust concerns.
RTL said the decision not to sell follows a review of its strategic options following the merger collapse, adding that it had received “several financially attractive” offers for its shareholding. Bidders reportedly included Banijay chairman Stephane Courbit and a group of investors.
In a statement, RTL Group said it considers the “legal risks and uncertainties to be too high, due to the required approval processes from the antitrust and media authorities, and the timing for the upcoming license renewal for the main channel M6.”
M6 will now apply for a new five-year broadcast authorisation from May 2023. Once granted by France’s audiovisual authority, Arcom, it cannot change its controlling shareholder for that period of time, under French law. This means RTL will have to wait five years before considering any new bids for the French TV network.
Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said: “RTL Group has been a strategic shareholder in Groupe M6 for 35 years. Groupe M6 is one of the best-run TV companies in Europe with an excellent management team, led by its CEO Nicolas de Tavernost. In 2021, Groupe M6 achieved record operating results. We will continue to pursue our strategy to build national media groups of sufficient size to compete with the US platforms.”
RTL said it remains convinced that market consolidation is necessary to compete with the global tech platforms – and that market consolidation will happen in the European TV markets sooner or later.
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