Company Website:
http://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- (Business Wire)
Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. (NYSE: SNI) has closed on its
agreement to acquire a 52.7 percent interest in Poland’s premier
multi-platform media company, TVN, from ITI and Canal+ Group for an
all-cash consideration of €584 million. Scripps Networks Interactive
will also assume €856 million of debt.
“The acquisition of TVN marks an important step forward in Scripps
Networks Interactive’s international expansion strategy, and gives us a
leadership position in one of the most important media markets in
Central Europe,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, president, chairman and chief
executive officer, Scripps Networks Interactive. “TVN is a strong and
profitable company run by a great management team under Markus
Tellenbach, and we believe our ownership can help ensure that the
business continues to grow for the long-term.”
Under Polish law, Scripps Networks Interactive is required to launch a
public tender offer to increase its ownership interest in TVN to 66
percent, within three months of closing on the initial purchase. Scripps
Networks Interactive has previously announced its intention to acquire
100 percent of TVN and delist it from the Warsaw Stock Exchange. No
price for the offer has yet been set.
Three Scripps Networks Interactive senior executives have been appointed
to the TVN supervisory board. Joe NeCastro, chief development officer;
Jim Samples, president, Scripps Networks International; and Cynthia
Gibson, chief legal officer, will all sit on the supervisory board,
which oversees the activities of TVN’s operational management board.
TVN is one of the leading media companies in Poland, with a portfolio of
free-to-air and pay TV lifestyle and entertainment channels including
TVN, TVN 7, TVN Style, TTV, TVN Turbo as well as Poland’s leading
24-hour news channel, TVN24, and business news channel TVN24 Biznes i
Swiat. The channels have enabled TVN to attract a market-leading 22
percent share of Polish viewing in 2014. TVN Media is Poland’s leading
advertising sales house, last year securing a 33 percent share of the
market in advertising revenue for TVN’s own portfolio of channels, as
well as selling advertising for a number of other commercial
broadcasters in Poland.
The acquisition is the latest move in Scripps Networks Interactive’s
expansion into Europe. In 2011, the company completed a joint-venture
partnership with BBC Worldwide in the United Kingdom for the UKTV
portfolio of 10 entertainment and lifestyle channels. In addition,
Scripps Networks’ international division distributes seven lifestyle
brands including HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network,
Cooking Channel, Fine Living and Asian Food Channel, reaching more than
200 million cumulative subscribers in nearly 180 countries and
territories across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin
America and the Caribbean.
Scripps Networks Interactive’s financial advisors for the transaction
were Barclays and Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P., while legal advice
was provided by Latham & Watkins LLP and Domański Zakrzewski Palinka
sp.k.
About Scripps Networks Interactive
Scripps Networks Interactive is one of the leading developers of
engaging lifestyle content in the home, food and travel categories for
television, the Internet and emerging platforms. The company's lifestyle
media portfolio comprises popular television and Internet brands HGTV,
DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel and Great
American Country, which collectively reach more than 190 million
consumers each month. Companion websites complement on-air programming
with video and social media that inform and inspire. The company’s
global networks reach millions of consumers across North and South
America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Scripps
Networks Interactive is headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. For more
information, please visit http://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150701006507/en/
Contacts:
Scripps Networks Interactive
Media:
Dylan
Jones, 865-560-5068
djones@scrippsnetworks.com
or
Lee
Hall, 865-560-3853
lhall@scrippsnetworks.com
or
Investors:
Mike
Gallentine, 865-560-4473
mgallentine@scrippsnetworks.com
Source: Scripps Networks Interactive
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