RTL chief defends Pearson TV acquisition
The chief executive of RTL has defended the acquisition ofPearson TV after a write-down in the company's value sent the pan-European broadcaster into a loss of £1.3bn.
Didier Bellens said the group had to reduce the value of Pearson, which makes The Bill and Neighbours, because of the closure of most of its US operations and the depressed state of the media sector.
But Mr Bellens brushed off criticism of the deal, which was struck at the top of the market last year.
Pearson TV, the broadcasting arm of the UK media group, Pearson, merged with the European TV business, CLT Ufa, to formRTL.
"Pearson TV was worth buying. It is a very good business with long-term clients and interests," he said.
Mr Bellens warned other media companies would have to follow RTL's lead because so many takeovers and mergers were sealed last year when the media sector was caught up in the dot.com boom.
"A lot of other companies should have done this and will do it. Many corporate deals were struck at the top of the market in the telecoms and media sectors," he said.
The chief executive added RTL would use a £1.5bn credit facility to make further acquisitions in a market ripe for consolidation.
"The funny thing is that when the market is going down, the opportunities are increasing and the prices are going down. The key in all business is to be the strongest all the time and to be in the best position as the consolidator in the market," he said.
Mr Bellens reiterated the group's commitment to Channel 5 after the UK broadcaster recorded a loss of £11m for the first six months of the year.
"Channel 5 has one of the best management teams around and they are delivering. We cannot be pan-European and not be in the UK," he said.
Mr Bellens added Channel 5 was still committed to achieving an audience share of 10% against the current level of just under 6%.