Top > Business > 2006 > December > 2006-12-23

Haim Saban Sells Prosiebensat 1

Haim Saban, ranked by Forbes magazine as America`s 98th richest person, sold his control of Prosiebensat 1 to a consortium of investors led by American Kolberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) and British Permira. Sources related to the purchase said that the deal estimated Prosiebensat 1`s value at approximately $7.5 billion, a bit lower than analyst predicted. One source was quoted saying that KKR and Premira will pay $38 a share for 50.5% of the German broadcasting company, or $3.9 billion altogether. For Saban and his partners this means nearly quadrupling of their investment back in August 2003.

Sources say that the companies purchasing Prosiebensat 1 intend to merge it with SBS, which the consortium purchased last year, planning to create a pan-European broadcasting company based in Germany to compete with RTL, which is owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The sources added that the deal is not expected to encounter resistance from the authorities, and therefore is expected to be finalized during the first quarter of 2007. Prosiebensat 1 was nearly sold to German publisher Axel Springer last year for $3.2 billion, last year, but the purchase was stopped by German authorities.

Prosiebensathas grown considerably in the recent year, after purchasing 30% of MyVideo.de, the German counterpart of YouTube, as well as, other expansion schemes. Prosiebensathas rose out of the ashes of Leo Kirch`s media empire, that collapsed in 2002 in the biggest bankruptcy in Germany since World War II. Prosiebensathas currently holds 30% of the German television market and 45% of the television advertising market.