The European Commission has approved the merger of NENT Group’s satellite pay-TV and broadband-TV business with Telenor Group’s satellite pay-TV business.
NENT Group and Telenor Group will each hold 50% of the business that will be headed by the current Chief Executive Officer of Canal Digital and Telenor Broadcast Bjørn Ivar Moen.
The new company which will reveal its name following the closure of the transaction will operate at an arm’s length from its two owners. It will be based in Stockholm and Oslo.
Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “We are delighted to receive the European Commission’s approval for this game-changing joint venture. The business and customer rationales are compelling. We are creating a large-scale player that can compete on a Nordic level, make sustained investments in content and technology, deliver even better combined customer offerings, and generate substantial revenue and cost synergies.”
Annual savings of SEK 650 million are expected after costs of SEK 900 million, primarily from the migration of Viasat Consumer’s subscriber base to the Telenor Satellite platform at one degree West.
The new operation will carry channels from multiple providers including for NENT Group’s Viasat pay-TV channels (to be rebranded as V from June), free-TV channels and Viaplay streaming service, all of which will continue to be owned by NENT Group and be widely available on third-party platforms.
The transaction is expected to close on May 5.
