Commission Clears ProSiebenSat.1, KKR/Permira Deal

BRUSSELS, February 23: The European Commission has cleared
the acquisition of a majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1 Media by Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts and Permira, noting that the
deal “would not significantly impede effective competition” in the European
Union.

Permira and KKR jointly own SBS Broadcasting, which is
expected to be merged with ProSiebenSat.1, creating a pan-European media entity
to rival the RTL Group. “The Commission’s examination of the proposed
transaction showed that there are no horizontal overlaps between the activities
of ProSiebenSat.1 and SBS,” the ruling noted.

It continued: “The Commission also analyzed the potential
effects of the proposed transaction arising from the fact that ProSiebenSat.1
and SBS are among the larger TV broadcasters in their regions. The Commission
concluded that there was no risk that the proposed transaction would allow the
new entity to drive competitors out of the market or to discriminate against
them.”

Permira also owns All3Media in the U.K., and the Commission
ruled that there “were no competition concerns due to the negligible volume of
sales involved in Germany.”