Digitürk sale finally confirmed

The leading Turkish DTH platform Digitürk has been bought by beIN Media Group for an undisclosed fee.

Confirmation of the deal, which was in the pipeline for a number of months, finally came from both parties on Monday, July 13. Under it, the Qatari company acquired the stakes held by Cukurova Holding (53%) and US’s Providence Equity Partners (47%).

The sale will still require a number of administrative approvals and the fulfillment of various conditions before it is completed. These, say some local reports, could take several months.

Digitürk had over 2.27 million subscribers in Turkey as of the end of the first quarter this year. It holds the lucrative broadcasting rights to Turkey’s leading football league until the end of the 2016/17 season.

Meanwhile, beIN Media Group’s assets include Al Jazeera.

In previous reports, it was believed beIN Media Group would pay between $1 billion and $1.2 billion for Digitürk.

Digitürk looks outside Turkey

The Turkish DTH platform Digitürk is looking to expand its activities into Azerbaijan.

According to Balkans.com, this follows a distribution agreement it has signed with the Azerbaijani businessman Mevlüt Issever that will give Azeri viewers access to Turkish Super League games, as well as several more channels.

In total, the number of Digitürk distribution points will rise from six to 10, with the aim being to give Digitürk 100% coverage of the market within the next year.

The move by Digitürk comes at a difficult time for the platform, which was taken over by the Savings Deposit and Insurance Fund (TMSF) in May this year from its majority (53%) owner Çukurova and is currently in the process of being sold.

Dogan bids for Digitürk

The race to buy the Turkish pay-TV operator Digitürk has intensified, with Dogan Holding submitting a non-binding offer of $742 million (€561.9 million) for a 53% stake in the company.

Given that Dogan already owns D-Smart, another leading pay-TV operator, any sale would give it a dominant share of the market and could therefore be opposed by the competition authorities.

Although Digitürk is officially owned by Çukurova Holding, with Providence a 47% shareholder, it was, along with several other interests, seized by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) in May this year.

Çukurova Holding remains in financial difficulties – the reason for the seizure – and is focused on its struggle with Russia’s Alfa Group to retain control of Turkcell.

Digitürk has already attracted interest from Türk Telekom and any sale will be undertaken by the TMSF, which has already disposed of some other Çukurova assets.