RTL Group Acquires Over 3 Million Shares Yet Fails to Reach Initial Objective
In a significant development, RTL Group has announced plans to bolster its shareholdings in preparation for a potential variable component in the upcoming Sky acquisition. The acquisition, planned with Comcast, Sky Germany's parent company, is subject to approval by European antitrust regulators.
If approved, the acquisition will cost RTL Group €150 million in cash. However, an additional agreement in the Sky acquisition states that if RTL Group's share price rises above €41 within five years, Comcast may trigger a variable component. This variable component could add up to an additional €377 million.
RTL Group has been offering shares to purchase on the open market to reach a total buyback target of about 4 million shares. So far, only 1,166,052 new shares have been added to RTL Group as a result of the buyback. Approximately 0.8 million shares from the initial target remain to be repurchased.
The remaining approximately 0.8 million RTL Group shares that were not purchased in the initial share buyback offer are intended to be acquired by RTL Group itself through transactions on the open market. The final purchase price for these shares will be €37.85 per share.
It's worth noting that the variable component could be settled with shares, a detail not mentioned in earlier facts. RTL Group is preparing the share buffer not only for the potential variable component but also for future acquisitions.
The transaction is expected to be completed on September 17. The 2 million RTL Group shares offered were previously held by the parent company Bertelsmann. The shares offered were within a price range of €30.85 to €37.85 per share.
RTL Group is taking these steps to handle the potential variable component in the Sky acquisition cost. The company aims to maintain a strong financial position and continue its growth strategy.
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