Telefónica Finalizes Canal+ Spain Acquisition

MADRID: According to local reports, Telefónica has closed its agreement with Grupo Prisa for a 56 percent interest in pay-TV platform Canal+ Spain, worth 707 million euros ($792 million).

The deal comes a week after Spain’s National Commission of Markets and Competition (known through its Spanish acronym, CNMC) approved Telefónica’s acquisition of Canal+ (DTS), with some conditions.

Telefónica, which already owned 44 percent of Canal+, said the purchase price stood at 707 million euros, compared with the initially announced 750 million euros, due to adjustments for variables and a decline in business. Of that amount, Telefónica has already paid 80 percent, or 565.5 million euros ($633.4 million). The remaining 20 percent will be paid “after completion of the adjustments referred to in the sale contract, which could lead to the price either increasing or decreasing.”

The transaction’s final cost “will be adjusted” based on the value ultimately placed on Mediapro’ Digital+, following a ruling clearing the rights for the TV broadcast of soccer matches, along with the revision of the adjustments referred to in the contract.

“With the sale of DTS completed, Prisa will focus on the education and information business, with a special emphasis on growth in Latin America, as well as a continuation of its policy to reduce debt and strengthen its balance sheet,” the company said in a statement.