(Reuters) – French media mogul Stephane Courbit and his investor partners are said to have offered 20 euros ($19) a share for Bertelsmann SE & Co.’s stake in television company Groupe M6, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
The offer is a 39% premium to Friday’s closing price of 14.43 euros per share, and values the 48% stake around 1.22 billion euros.
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky also made an offer for the stake, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately reach Courbit for comment. RTL declined comment while M6 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported last week that a consortium of high-profile French entrepreneurs including billionaire Rodolphe Saade, Courbit of TV production group Banijay and investor Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere was in pole position to clinch a deal.
Italian broadcaster MediaForEurope, meanwhile, joined forces with French billionaire Xavier Niel to submit a non-binding offer for a controlling stake in M6, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
In March 2021, when Bertelsmann confirmed talks to sell its stake, French media reported that RTL’s stake was worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.48 billion), valuing all of M6 at about 3 billion euros.
Initial cash offers for RTL’s 48.3% stake in M6 were expected by last Friday afternoon after a planned tie-up between the company and fellow French broadcaster TF1 collapsed the previous week.
($1 = 1.0320 euros)
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
