Editor’s note: This article was first published in December 2011 as day-of news from 14 December 2011, when the merger was still pending regulatory, competition and shareholder approval. It was completed in 2012 and the group later became Atresmedia; the list of 8 channels and the Formula 1 rights reflect that time.
Antena 3 and La Sexta have signed an agreement to combine the two companies through a merger in which Antena 3 will absorb La Sexta. Antena 3’s board of directors approved the deal this afternoon.
In exchange for transferring all of their assets, La Sexta’s shareholders will receive 7% of the share capital of the new Antena 3 Group. To carry out this exchange, Antena 3 will first increase its capital by issuing new shares.
The agreement also gives La Sexta’s shareholders an additional stake of up to 7%, phased and conditional on the new group meeting a set of performance targets during 2012–2016. If all or part of this stake is delivered, it will be paid entirely in shares from Antena 3’s treasury stock.
Antena 3 will take on La Sexta’s debt as its own and will respect the channel’s “personality”: it will keep its brand and its usual programming, as long as its audience remains profitable. The main new development is that Antena 3, based in San Sebastián de los Reyes and without sports broadcasting rights of its own, is seriously considering airing some star content on its main channel, such as Formula 1 races, which the group will have for at least two more seasons. The football market, which is less stable, will depend on future negotiations.
Completion of the merger and the related agreements is subject to obtaining the relevant regulatory and competition approvals. Antena 3 also plans to put the deal to a vote at its next Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting, to be held in the first quarter of 2012.
The new Antena 3 Group will have a total of 8 channels: Antena 3, La Sexta, Neox, Nova, Nitro, La Sexta 2, La Sexta 3 and Gol TV (the last one leased), which together cover the demands of both viewers and advertisers in a varied and complementary way.
Sources: Público and ABC
Featured image: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
