KKR has announced to acquire a 5.2% stake in German commercial broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1, causing the German firm’s shares to rise on the Frankfurt stock exchange. KKR has told that it had decided to invest in the broadcaster because it believes that the market is undervaluing the company. It said that it viewed the purchase of the sizeable stake as a “financial investment”.
The investment marks the second time around with ProSiebenSat.1 for KKR. The private equity firm was a co-owner of in German broadcaster alongside Permira, another private equity company, between 2007 and 2014, when the pair sold their remaining 16.6% stakes in the company for €1.3 billion.
KKR’s involvement also comes as ProSiebenSat.1 posted a modest uplift in Q1 revenues at the end of last week. The broadcaster saw revenues rise by 1% to €926 million. Non-TV core advertising revenues accounted for 52% of Q1 sales, with e-commerce arm NuCom Group seeing revenues rise by 15% to €228 million.
KKR’s acquisition follows a progressive raising of its stake in ProSiebenSat.1 by Italy’s Mediaset.
The acquisition of share by Mediaset Italia gives Mediaset Group as a whole control of up to 24.9% of the voting rights in ProSiebenSat.1, just shy of the 25% threshold that meets the local regulatory regime’s definition of market concentration.
