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Dubai broadcaster close to partial sale |
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10/13/2006 9:12:59 AM |
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Taj Television, a Dubai-based broadcaster, is close to clinching a deal with one of the three suitors vying for a 50 per cent stake in its popular sports channel.
Denying recent media speculations that Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has finalised a $75 million deal to acquire Taj Television's Ten Sports, a source at the pan-Asian sports channel told Khaleej Times that "the race is in the final round with all three contenders still in talks."
He said SET, owned by Japanese electronics giant Sony, is one of the several potential partners with which Taj Television is in talks. The Media City based group is reportedly negotiating with Zee Telefilms and the Sahara Group, both from India.
SET, India’s third-biggest cable broadcaster, holds the rights to International Cricket Council matches, including the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
The valuation of the channel, identified as the main stumbling block that has forced negotiations to drag on for more than a year, has been reportedly resolved and fixed at around $140 million, according to a report.
Taj Television, established in January 2001, is part of Bukhatir Investments Ltd owned by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, the man who brought one-day international cricket to Sharjah.
Ten Sports, which is reaching nearly 55 million homes in the sub-continent, Middle East, Europe and Asia, has the exclusive telecast rights for all cricket matches played in Pakistan. It has also bagged the telecast rights for West Indies cricket for the next five years.
The combined cost of both acquisitions is said to be around $50 million. It also holds the rights to Sharjah cricket as well as matches in Morocco and Sri Lanka.
Ten Sports had been waging a battle with India's state channel Doordarshan (DD) battle over sharing its live telecast feed of the India-Pakistan cricket series.
The sports channel demanded $24 million from Doordarshan to share feed, but DD refused leading to a high-profile battle which moved from the high courts of Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi to the Supreme Court. Due to the apex court's intervention, cricket fans in India have been able to watch the first two ODIs.
Chris McDonald, Ten Sports' Chief Executive, was quoted by a news agency as saying: "It made sense to look at partnerships to help us grow. We have global aspirations. But no deal is final as yet. We have no intentions of selling out our business to anyone. It is about expansion.”
According to a television industry source, a deal with SET is most likely. |
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