Bertelsmann withdraws planned offer to buy out minority holders
in RTL
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP BERLIN -- Bertelsmann AG
has withdrawn its planned offer to buy the outstanding shares in Luxembourg-based
television broadcaster RTL Group PLC, the two companies said Tuesday.
The German media giant currently owns 90.2% of RTL , a key broadcasting
subsidiary. It had planned to offer €44 ($38.84) per share for the
rest of RTL -- the same deal it gave Pearson PLC in December when
Bertelsmann bought the British media company's 22% RTL stake for 1.5
billion euros.
But "detailed discussions ... have led Bertelsmann to conclude that
an offer on these terms and conditions cannot be made," the company
said. It said some minority shareholders had demanded a higher price,
and added that some regulatory conditions imposed on the offer were
unacceptable.
Bertelsmann said it wasn't prepared to increase its offer. Under the
terms of the agreement with Pearson, Bertelsmann would have to increase
the amount payable to Pearson if it increased its offer to minority
RTL holders.
Privately held Bertelsmann doesn't need to make an offer to the minority
investors but has said it wants to buy out other RTL holders ahead
of its own initial public offering, expected within the next three
years.
Bertelsmann said it has acquired 785,000 additional shares in RTL
since the Pearson deal, and added that it "reserves the right further
to increase (its) percentage shareholding in RTL ." The remaining
RTL shares are split between institutional and private investors.
RTL was formed by the merger in 2000 of CLT-Ufa and Pearson TV. It
has 23 TV stations and 17 radio stations in nine European countries
and production activities in three dozen countries world-wide, including
the United States, Australia and South Africa. Bertelsmann's media
empire spans television, book and magazine publishing, music recording
and book clubs.
RTL's shares traded down 4.25% on the London Stock Exchange at €45.
Bertelsmann isn't publicly traded.
Updated March 19, 2002 9:47 a.m. EST Wall Street Journal 20.03
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