CANNES -- Some of Rupert Murdoch's moxie seems to have rubbed off on Premiere, the German pay player in which News Corp. controls a 22.7% stake, with Premiere CEO Michael Bornicke telling the German press his struggling pay platform is looking to buy Sat.1, one of Germany's largest free-TV channels.
"We're interested in acquiring Sat.1," Bornicke told German business daily Handelsblatt Monday. "The Berlin-based channel would be a perfect fit for us."
A merger of Premiere -- Germany's leading pay TV group -- with Sat.1 would radically change the German TV landscape. But Bornicke's announcement smacks of the sort of dramatics associated with his dynamic predecessor Georg Kofler, who was a master in stoking Premiere's stock price with a well-placed pronouncement. For its part Sat.1, part of the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcast group controlled by investment groups KKR and Permira, said it is not in talks with Premiere.
Bornicke, however, is brimming with confidence now that his company, thanks to Murdoch's participation, has been taken off the takeover list.
"We're interested in acquiring Sat.1," Bornicke told German business daily Handelsblatt Monday. "The Berlin-based channel would be a perfect fit for us."
A merger of Premiere -- Germany's leading pay TV group -- with Sat.1 would radically change the German TV landscape. But Bornicke's announcement smacks of the sort of dramatics associated with his dynamic predecessor Georg Kofler, who was a master in stoking Premiere's stock price with a well-placed pronouncement. For its part Sat.1, part of the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcast group controlled by investment groups KKR and Permira, said it is not in talks with Premiere.
Bornicke, however, is brimming with confidence now that his company, thanks to Murdoch's participation, has been taken off the takeover list.
COLOGNE, Germany -- In his first act as the new head of German pay TV group Premiere, CEO Michael Bornicke and Premiere's board approved the issue of up to €250 million ($338 million) in new Premiere shares.
Premiere plans to use the capital in its upcoming bid for rights to Germany's top soccer league, the Bundesliga. Soccer is the primary draw for German pay TV subscribers. Premiere currently has a deal to sub-license the Bundesliga from cable group Unity Media through 2008.
The Unity Media deal didn't come cheap. Premiere has agreed to pay €100 million ($135 million) per season. Unity Media also took a 17% stake in Premiere as part of the deal, a stake valued at about €320 million ($430 million)
Bidding on the 2009-12 Bundesliga seasons will begin later this year.
"This planned share issue should increase Premiere's room to maneuver ... especially in regards to the bidding for Bundesliga rights," said Bornicke, who took over as CEO following Georg Kofler's exit last week.
Premiere plans to use the capital in its upcoming bid for rights to Germany's top soccer league, the Bundesliga. Soccer is the primary draw for German pay TV subscribers. Premiere currently has a deal to sub-license the Bundesliga from cable group Unity Media through 2008.
The Unity Media deal didn't come cheap. Premiere has agreed to pay €100 million ($135 million) per season. Unity Media also took a 17% stake in Premiere as part of the deal, a stake valued at about €320 million ($430 million)
Bidding on the 2009-12 Bundesliga seasons will begin later this year.
"This planned share issue should increase Premiere's room to maneuver ... especially in regards to the bidding for Bundesliga rights," said Bornicke, who took over as CEO following Georg Kofler's exit last week.
- 8/25/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Georg Kofler was one of German TV's last corporate cowboys, a high-risk gambler who transformed the German industry. His surprise resignation this week as head of pay TV group Premiere had, for many, the mark of the end of an era, with the cowboy saying goodbye and the suits -- in this case Kofler's successor, Premiere CFO Michael Bornicke -- taking over.
Kofler's flamboyant public persona and dealmaking skills are credited with pulling Premiere back from the edge of bankruptcy in 2002, when he took over as CEO. In just three years, he renegotiated expensive film rights deals with reluctant studios, convinced PE giant Permira to buy the company and took Premiere public in a €1.2 billion IPO that was 12 times oversubscribed.
But his taste for brinkmanship almost sank Premiere when, several months later, he lost the rights to German top-league soccer, the Bundesliga, to newcomer Arena. Kofler pushed too hard, demanding the Bundesliga shut out Germany's free-to-air public channels -- particularly ARD's hugely popular soccer magazine "Sportschau" -- and give Premiere exclusive rights. The Bundesliga said no. Premiere stock dropped 50% overnight.
"The market had a mixed opinion of him," a London-based media analyst with UBS said. "Most people thought it was his fault Premiere lost the soccer rights, that Kofler misjudged the Bundesliga.
Kofler's flamboyant public persona and dealmaking skills are credited with pulling Premiere back from the edge of bankruptcy in 2002, when he took over as CEO. In just three years, he renegotiated expensive film rights deals with reluctant studios, convinced PE giant Permira to buy the company and took Premiere public in a €1.2 billion IPO that was 12 times oversubscribed.
But his taste for brinkmanship almost sank Premiere when, several months later, he lost the rights to German top-league soccer, the Bundesliga, to newcomer Arena. Kofler pushed too hard, demanding the Bundesliga shut out Germany's free-to-air public channels -- particularly ARD's hugely popular soccer magazine "Sportschau" -- and give Premiere exclusive rights. The Bundesliga said no. Premiere stock dropped 50% overnight.
"The market had a mixed opinion of him," a London-based media analyst with UBS said. "Most people thought it was his fault Premiere lost the soccer rights, that Kofler misjudged the Bundesliga.
- 8/17/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- Georg Kofler has resigned as head of Premiere AG in a surprise move that sent company stock tumbling amid uncertainty about the future of the German pay TV group.
Kofler will leave Premiere at the end of the month. On Monday, he announced he had sold his 1.2 million Premiere shares -- equivalent to 1.3% of the company's total stock -- for around €23 million ($31 million) last week.
He will be replaced as Premiere CEO by deputy head and company CFO Michael Bornicke.
The move comes just weeks after one of Kofler's greatest coups -- wresting back the pay TV rights to Germany's Bundesliga soccer from one-time competitor Arena.
According to Kofler, the decision to leave was entirely based on "personal life planning." With new pay TV rights contracts coming up for renewal extending to 2012 and beyond, the Austrian-born media veteran said he was "not prepared to continue my responsibility as CEO for such a long-time horizon."
Kofler has headed some of Germany's most successful broadcasters over the past quarter century including ProSiebenSat.1, teleshopping channel HOT and call-in quiz channel 9Live.
But Kofler said Monday he will be leaving the media business altogether.
"Over 25 years I have been involved in television covering every aspect of the business," Kofler said.
Kofler will leave Premiere at the end of the month. On Monday, he announced he had sold his 1.2 million Premiere shares -- equivalent to 1.3% of the company's total stock -- for around €23 million ($31 million) last week.
He will be replaced as Premiere CEO by deputy head and company CFO Michael Bornicke.
The move comes just weeks after one of Kofler's greatest coups -- wresting back the pay TV rights to Germany's Bundesliga soccer from one-time competitor Arena.
According to Kofler, the decision to leave was entirely based on "personal life planning." With new pay TV rights contracts coming up for renewal extending to 2012 and beyond, the Austrian-born media veteran said he was "not prepared to continue my responsibility as CEO for such a long-time horizon."
Kofler has headed some of Germany's most successful broadcasters over the past quarter century including ProSiebenSat.1, teleshopping channel HOT and call-in quiz channel 9Live.
But Kofler said Monday he will be leaving the media business altogether.
"Over 25 years I have been involved in television covering every aspect of the business," Kofler said.
- 8/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
COLOGNE, Germany -- German pay TV group Premiere has reduced year-end forecasts following a weak second quarter but, buoyed by its recent soccer-rights deal with competitor Arena, is predicting strong growth in 2008.
The Munich-based broadcaster trimmed second-quarter losses, booking a net loss of €32.6 million ($45 million), compared with a massive €138.8 million loss in the second quarter of 2006. Revenue, however, was down 15% to €229.1 million ($315.5 million).
As a result, Premiere now says it expects to earn €1.04 billion-€1.05 billion ($1.43 billion-$1.45 billion) this year, down from the €1.05 billion-€1.1 billion initially forecast. Premiere has reduced its operating profit (EBITDA) forecast for 2007 as well, targeting an EBITDA of €80 million-€100 million ($110 million-$138 million), below the original forecast of €120 million-€140 million for the full year.
Premiere CEO Georg Kofler blamed the second-quarter drop on uncertainty surrounding the Arena deal. German regulatory authorities blocked the initial agreement between the two companies, which would have seen Premiere and Arena jointly market German Bundesliga soccer matches on their respective satellite services.
The Munich-based broadcaster trimmed second-quarter losses, booking a net loss of €32.6 million ($45 million), compared with a massive €138.8 million loss in the second quarter of 2006. Revenue, however, was down 15% to €229.1 million ($315.5 million).
As a result, Premiere now says it expects to earn €1.04 billion-€1.05 billion ($1.43 billion-$1.45 billion) this year, down from the €1.05 billion-€1.1 billion initially forecast. Premiere has reduced its operating profit (EBITDA) forecast for 2007 as well, targeting an EBITDA of €80 million-€100 million ($110 million-$138 million), below the original forecast of €120 million-€140 million for the full year.
Premiere CEO Georg Kofler blamed the second-quarter drop on uncertainty surrounding the Arena deal. German regulatory authorities blocked the initial agreement between the two companies, which would have seen Premiere and Arena jointly market German Bundesliga soccer matches on their respective satellite services.
- 7/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MUNICH -- The future looks brighter, German pay TV operator Premiere told shareholders Friday at their annual meeting in Munich.
The company's income has stabilized after a precipitous drop since losing the pay TV rights to Bundesliga soccer action in late 2005, and talks with German cartel regulators about a deal to bring back the Bundesliga via satellite are going well, Premiere's top officers said.
The first quarter of 2007 saw an 18% year-to-year drop in revenue, according to CFO Michael Boernicke, from €273 million ($364 million) in the first three months of 2006 -- directly after the loss of the Bundesliga rights -- to €224 ($298.7 million) in the same period this year. But second-quarter figures are expected to be at or about the same level as in 2006.
And talks with media watchdogs in Berlin "are making good progress," CEO Georg Kofler said. And if the satellite deal with Bundesliga rights-owner Arena goes through, Premiere should see "a significant increase in revenues during the second half of the year," Boernicke added.
The company's income has stabilized after a precipitous drop since losing the pay TV rights to Bundesliga soccer action in late 2005, and talks with German cartel regulators about a deal to bring back the Bundesliga via satellite are going well, Premiere's top officers said.
The first quarter of 2007 saw an 18% year-to-year drop in revenue, according to CFO Michael Boernicke, from €273 million ($364 million) in the first three months of 2006 -- directly after the loss of the Bundesliga rights -- to €224 ($298.7 million) in the same period this year. But second-quarter figures are expected to be at or about the same level as in 2006.
And talks with media watchdogs in Berlin "are making good progress," CEO Georg Kofler said. And if the satellite deal with Bundesliga rights-owner Arena goes through, Premiere should see "a significant increase in revenues during the second half of the year," Boernicke added.
- 6/16/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.