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Telefonica bids EUR 725 mln for controlling Digital+ stake
2014-05-07 09:09:00| Telecompaper Headlines
(Telecompaper) Telefonica has informed Spain's market regulator CNMV that it has made a EUR 725 million binding bid for the controlling 56 percent stake in Spanish pay-TV platform Digital+ held by local media group Prisa. Telefonica already owns 22 percent of Digital+, while the remaining 22 percent is in the hands of Italian broadcaster Mediaset. The deal is pending regulatory approval but if it goes through Telefonica would acquire a large customer base in the form of the 1.6 million subscribers to Spanish pay-TV channel Canal+. These customers, who pay an average EUR 43 per month in subscription fees, could subsequently be transferred to Telefonica's growing fibre optic network. The acquisition of Digital+ would also give the operator access to Prisa's TV catalogue, including its rights to live Spanish football games, above all the highly lucrative Barcelona-Real Madrid 'classic'.
Tags: digital
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Category:Telecommunications