After a failed merger attempt with TF1, M6 is now up for sale by German media group Bertelsmann.<\/p>\n
According to the Financial Times<\/em>, Bertelsmann is asking for indicative bids by Friday to \u201ctest the market.\u201d The FT<\/em> also reports that the sale is attracting a crowded field of potential buyers that includes some of Europe\u2019s most prominent media billionaires, citing people close to the process.<\/p>\n Thomas Rabe, Bertelsmann\u2019s chief executive, confirmed to the Financial Times<\/em> that he had asked for non-binding offers after being \u201cinundated with expressions of interest\u201d when the M6-TF1 deal was abandoned last week. \u201cThis is why we are \u2018testing the market.\u2019 We will decide on the basis of the test whether to sell or not,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Bertelsmann\u2019s RTL group owns a 48.3 percent stake in M6.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the debates with the [Competition] Authority and despite the additional remedies proposed, it appears that only structural remedies involving at the very least the divestment of the TF1 TV channel or of the M6 TV channel would be sufficient to approve the proposed merger,\u201d a statement from RTL Group read at the time the merger was called off.<\/p>\n The parties, therefore, concluded that \u201cthe proposed merger no longer has any strategic rationale.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe parties regret that the Competition Authority did not take into account the speed and extent of the changes sweeping through the French broadcasting sector,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThey continue to firmly believe that a merger of the TF1 and M6 Groups would have provided an appropriate response to the challenges resulting from the increased competition from the international platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After a failed merger attempt with TF1, M6 is now up for sale by German media group Bertelsmann.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":12142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n