Alma Media wants to sell MTV3 to Swedes

Norway's Schibsted not giving up on takeover bid

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The Alma Media group is considering the sale of the Finnish television network MTV3 to Sweden. Alma Media’s Board of Directors on Monday called for an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to approve an offer made by the Swedish Bonnier publishing house and the Proventus investment group to buy Alma Media’s Broadcasting unit for EUR 460 million.
      If the deal passes, the Swedish companies would get control of MTV3, as well as the cable and digital channel Subtv and the radio network Radio Nova. Before the deal is finalised, the Finnish government would have to give its approval to transfer Alma Media’s television broadcasting licence to the new owner.
     
Bonnier and Proventus already own more than 48% of Alma Media’s voting shares.
      Pekka Karhuvaara, CEO of MTV3, says that the new Swedish owners would not influence the programming of MTV3 or Subtv, at least in the short term.
      He added that in the future, the Nordic television stations under the same roof might buy common programme formats, but that even then the programmes would be tailored to fit each country separately.
      "Languages and cultures are different. Therefore, the TV business is not easy to move across borders", Karhuvaara says.
     
The competitive race for ownership of Alma Media’s television operations began in December, when the Norwegian Schibsted Group offered to buy all of Alma Media for EUR 705 million.
      Schibsted said that it was really only interested in MTV3, the financial daily newspaper Kauppalehti, and the late-edition tabloid newspaper Iltalehti. Schibsted had planned to sell off Alma’s provincial newspapers.
      Schibsted’s offer has led to a flurry of competing offers for Alma Media. Alma Media CEO Juho Lipsanen says that the offer from Bonnier and Proventus is the best.
     
The practical arrangements of the deal would be for Bonnier and Proventus to sell their shares in Alma Media to a new company Almanova for EUR 340 million.
      Almanova is to offer other owners EUR 14 for each Alma share of the I series; EUR 6.50 of each share would be paid in cash, and the rest in shares of Almanova. For shares of the II series, Almanova is offering EUR 12, of which EUR 5.60 would be in cash.
     
However, the Schibsted Group is not yet giving up on its bid. On Monday, Schibsted’s CFO Trond Berger said that Alma Media is giving its shareholders an excessively rosy picture about the new deal on offer.
      "We are offering cold, hard cash, but the offer by Bonnier and Proventus contains both cash and an offer of exchanging shares, whose value cannot be assessed in advance", Berger says.
      He added that Schibsted’s offer is on the table until Monday, when Alma Media is to have its extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.
      "We are aware that shareholders representing three out of four Alma Media votes and 60% of its shares support the offer by Bonnier and Proventus", Berger admits. However, he does not believe that the game is over. He would not comment on the possibility that Schibsted might raise its offer.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Alma Media to sell MTV3 and Radio Nova to Swedish media group (24.1.2005)
  Bid for Alma Media seen as prelude to shake-out in Nordic TV market (22.12.2004)
  Norwegian Schibsted Group seeking to buy Alma Media for EUR 705 million (21.12.2004)

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