* Sale of shares realistic in fourth quarter – sources
* Plan to merge ProSieben’s preference, ordinary shares
* Prosieben potential DAX candidate – sources
(Adds detail, background)
FRANKFURT, Jan 28 (Reuters) – Private equity firms KKR
[KKR.UL] and Permira [PERM.UL] are considering moves to sell out
of broadcaster ProSiebenSat1 (PSMG_p.DE), four people familiar
with the matter said.
“A placement is realistic as early as the fourth quarter,”
one of the people told Reuters, adding it would likely be a
multi-billion euro deal.
A sale would create one of the largest listed European
broadcasters and make ProSieben, with a market capitalisation of
2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion), a candidate for Germany’s
blue-chip DAX index .GDAXI, the sources said.
KKR and Permira bought ProSieben for 3.3 billion euros in
2006 from an investor group led by U.S. media mogul Haim Saban.
They later merged it with European broadcaster SBS to take
on rival RTL Group AUDK.LU, which is majority owned by media
conglomerate Bertelsmann.
That left ProSieben saddled with debt and it is now in the
process of selling some SBS assets to pay down debts of 3.3
billion euros as of end-September. [ID:nLDE70M06C]
KKR and Permira declined to comment. A ProSieben spokesman
said it was up to its owners to comment.
The two private equity companies via investment vehicle
Lavena Holding own about 88 percent of ProSieben’s common shares
and 18 percent of preferred shares, which lack voting rights.
Only the preferred stock is currently listed.
KKR and Permira sold about 3.7 percent of ProSieben’s share
capital this month, raising about 194 million euros to reduce
debt and boost Lavena’s liquidity. [ID:nLDE70C0VO]
One source said it was a likely option that the common and
preferred stock would be merged before any sale because
investors dislike having two different types of shares. “The
owners are clearly in favour of this scenario,” the person said.
But one of the sources said said no decisions had been taken
yet and other options included selling only the ordinary shares,
either by a placing the market or by a sale to another investor.
“The process may take more than just a few months,” the
person said.
Consolidating the shares would require shareholder approval.
ProSieben’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for May 18.