NENT Group & Telenor in JV for Nordic Pay-TV Operation

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) and Telenor Group have agreed to combine the Viasat Consumer satellite pay-TV and broadband-TV operations with the satellite pay-TV Canal Digital service.

The merger will result in each of the parties holding 50 percent of the shares in a new JV company. The combined venture will operate on an arm’s length basis from both companies and will be an open platform providing content from multiple providers.

The combination is expected to yield annual cost synergies of about SEK 650 million ($67 million), with full effect from 2022.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group’s president and CEO, said: “We are very happy to announce this game-changing joint venture with Telenor. Combining Viasat Consumer and Canal Digital makes perfect sense. We are creating a large-scale TV operator that will create sustainable value for customers and owners, and be able to compete with large-scale regional and local competitors. We have achieved complete alignment of interest through a 50/50 joint venture structure and a shared vision for brands, products and how to provide an even better consumer experience. This deal will drive significant shareholder value and it fits perfectly with our strategy to focus on the substantial opportunity we see in the fast-growing streaming sector. The new joint venture will be a major distribution partner for both our Viasat channels and Viaplay.”

Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup, Telenor Group CFO, added: “The joint venture will combine the respective strengths of Canal Digital and Viasat Consumer, leveraging synergies for the benefits of our customers and shareholders. There is a compelling business rationale behind combining the DTH operations of Canal Digital and Viasat Consumer, with large synergies to be captured within areas including transponder capacity, IT and operating expenditure. The joint venture will use Telenor Satellite’s services on 1°West for DTH transmission, representing a solid foundation for Telenor Satellite’s broadcast operations.”