RTL Group Seals Deal to Sell RTL Nederland

RTL Group has clinched a deal to sell RTL Nederland to DPG Media for €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in cash.

DPG Media is a multimedia company active in the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the middle of 2024. The deal includes a strategic partnership between RTL Group and DPG Media encompassing technology, advertising sales and content. At the time of the closing of the transaction, the service agreements for RTL Nederland in the areas of streaming technology (via Bedrock), broadcasting operations (via RTL Group’s technical services provider BCE) and international advertising sales (via RTL AdAlliance) will be renewed for at least three years. In addition, RTL Nederland will continue to use the solutions provided by RTL Group’s ad-tech business, Smartclip. Further, for three years after closing, RTL Group’s broadcasters in Germany, France and Hungary will receive first-look rights for all new programs developed by RTL Nederland. DPG Media will continue to use the “RTL” brand in the Netherlands at least until December 2034.

Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, noted: “RTL Nederland is a fantastic company. Under the leadership of CEO Sven Sauvé, the company has built a strong culture and achieved extraordinary successes—demonstrated by market-leading audience shares in linear TV, strong growth in streaming and high profitability. For several years, we have consistently said that market consolidation in the European TV industry is necessary to compete with the global tech giants. After our in-country consolidation strategy was blocked by the competition authorities in January 2023, the sale to DPG Media is the best strategic option for RTL Nederland and all its stakeholders. We are looking forward to the strategic partnership with DPG Media, working closely together on European solutions in advertising and streaming technology, international advertising sales and joint content development.”

Elmar Heggen, deputy CEO and COO of RTL Group, added: “We would like to thank the management and the team at RTL Nederland for their outstanding entrepreneurial and creative performance over many years. We know DPG Media well. With a similar entrepreneurial culture, DPG Media will be a very good new home for RTL Nederland, and we are looking forward to expanding our cooperation into a strategic partnership.”

Christian Van Thillo, executive chairman of DPG Media Group, noted: “We are very pleased that we have reached an agreement with RTL Group to acquire RTL Nederland, the undisputed market leader in commercial TV broadcasting, and the owner of the highly successful streaming platform Videoland. Together with our leading TV brands VTM and RTL Belgium, we will be able to build a group that has the necessary scale to invest in the digital transformation of television. I am looking forward to working with the outstanding leadership team of RTL Nederland, and I am also very pleased that we will build a strategic partnership with RTL Group.”