RTL wants to sell Croatia business
RTL Group plans to divest its Croatian business. RTL Croatia is to go to the media company Central European Media Enterprises (CME) for 50 million euros, the company announced on Monday.
CME is already active in Central and Eastern European countries and has TV stations there. RTL Group was the majority shareholder from the launch of RTL Croatia in 2004 and has been the sole owner since summer 2015. The Croatia business includes eight TV channels, digital offerings and a music label.
Sale to be completed in the 2nd quarter
RTL shareholders are to benefit from the proceeds of the sale, the company added. In addition, the Group will receive payments from CME through a long-term brand licensing agreement. If the respective regulatory authorities approve the deal, the Group expects the sale to close in the second quarter of this year.
RTL Group has been reviewing its business in European countries for some time. The goal is also to ensure that media companies that are strong in the respective countries can keep up with international streaming competition locally. RTL is choosing different ways to do this.
Further measures planned
The Group has a lot planned for 2022: The RTL Deutschland division and the magazines of Hamburg-based publisher Gruner + Jahr - both part of Bertelsmann's portfolio - were merged at the start of the new year. By the end of the first half of the year, RTL Nederland is to merge with John de Mol's media company Talpa Network. Furthermore, the Belgian business is to be sold for €250 million by the end of the year, and the French private channels TF1 and M6 are to be merged. In the case of the latter, RTL Group would become the second-largest shareholder in the new group, with around 16 percent. (SDA)
