MTG Sells Czech TV Assets

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has entered into an agreement to sell its 50-percent shareholding in FTV Prima to Denemo Media, with plans to instead up its investment further in digital.

The cash transaction puts FTV Prima at an enterprise value of 237.4 million euros ($254.8 million). MTG originally purchased 50 percent of the Czech venture in 2005 for 87 million euros ($93 million).

MTG is considering using the proceeds from the sale to increase its ownership in InnoGames from 21 percent to 51 percent, based on the enterprise value of 260 million euros ($279 million) for 100 percent of the company that MTG paid for its initial investment at the end of 2016.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG’s president and CEO, said: “Prima Group is a great business with a very talented team delivering popular news and entertainment programming. Over the past 11 years, our local Czech partner and we have transformed the Czech media landscape by launching a wide variety of channels and services and establishing Prima as the go-to brand for information and entertainment. We wish the team continued success with our local partner and the new investor.

“We are considering investing part of the proceeds in moving up to a majority position in InnoGames. This is perfectly in line with our strategy to invest in relevant, complementary and scalable digital content and communities, and online gaming is the third vertical in our MTGx digital video entertainment portfolio. This is another key step in our ongoing transformation and we are constantly reviewing opportunities to expand our digital operations and footprint further.”