Danish incumbent TDC Group is set to acquire media and content company Modern Times Group’s (MTG) Nordic subsidiary – a move the operator said would create Europe’s first fully integrated media and communications provider.
The deal – worth SEK19.55 billion ($2.5 billion) in cash and shares – will create a merged company providing mobile, broadband, television, content production, broadcast and streaming services across the Nordic region.
In a statement, TDC Group said the joint entity would already have almost 3 million TV customers across Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. It added the new brand would have a potential reach of almost 10 million households.
TDC Group CEO Pernille Erenbjerg (pictured) will lead the new company, while MTG Nordics EVP Anders Jensen will become the merged company’s VP.
The remainder of MTG’s international portfolio will continue to operate as an independent company listed in Sweden, focused on e-sports, online gaming and video content production.
“Our two businesses complement each other amazingly, and the merger will give us even stronger innovation power,” Erenbjerg said: “We will therefore have the opportunity to offer even more attractive content to the Nordic consumers and to create the next generation of entertainment products. The company will be the first of its kind in Europe.”
Jensen added: “We want to create a new and true Nordic company with the intention to invest further in unique local content and to strengthen our overall entertainment products and the Nordic content market as a whole.”
The transaction is subject to shareholder approval and must be signed-off by regulators. TDC expects the deal to complete in the second half of 2018.
MTG’s largest shareholder, Sweden-based investment company Kinnevik, threw its weight behind the deal.
Kinnevik recently also backed a similar convergence deal between Swedish communications company Tele2 and pay TV provider Com Hem.
Source: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/tdc-mtg-forge-nordic-multiplay-deal/