Telefonica Still Interested In Minority Stake In Digital+
September 01 2009 - 6:30AM
Dow Jones News
Telefonica SA (TEF) is still interested in a minority stake in
Promotora de Informaciones SA (PRS.MC) satellite TV unit Digital+,
the company said late Monday.
"We would like to take a minority stake with a partner in an
acquisition of Digital+]," Telefonica Chief Operating Officer Julio
Linares said in a meeting with journalists late Monday.
He added Digital+ is a solid company that is well positioned in
the pay-TV market with a good know-how and content-distribution
network.
Spanish media company Promotora de Informaciones, or Prisa,
tried to sell Digital+ last year, but dropped the sale after not
being able to agree over a price with any of the interested
parties.
People close to the situation at the time said French media
conglomerate Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) had led a bid with Telefonica for
Digital+, but Prisa rejected the offer as too low.
Telefonica is Europe's largest telecommunications company by
market capitalization.
Prisa has been looking to sell assets to pay down a EUR5 billion
debt it took during an expansion drive fueled by cheap credit and
its once-booming media assets.
Company Web site: http://www.telefonica.com
-By Jason Sinclair, Dow Jones Newswires, 34 913958127,
jason.sinclair@dowjones.com