Sweden’s Telia has confirmed local new reports that it is conducting talks to acquire Bonnier Broadcasting. The total price tag for the broadcaster was estimated at around one billion euros.
Bonnier Broadcasting, which include Swedish TV channel TV4, streaming service C More and Finnish MTV3, had sales of 7.5 billion Swedish crowns ($861 million) last year and an operating profit (EBITA) of 423 million crowns.
“Content is an important part of the company’s future strategy and we continuously investigate possibilities in this and other areas,” Telia said in a statement, “The discussions with Bonnier are to be seen in that context.”
Magnus Törnblom, corporate press chief at Bonnier Broadcasting, confirmed the talks. Telia added that at this stage there are no further comments, but it will communicate further details if and when appropriate.
Telia is a telephone and mobile network operator and currently has operations in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Sweden, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The company’s TV business is active in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and the Baltic states.
However, Telia hopes to complete an exit from its Eurasian businesses this year. The company had said previously it is interested in acquisitions in its Nordic core markets.
