KKR and Permira to sell 16% stake in ProSiebenSat.1

The transaction would reduce the GPs' share in the Munich-based company from 33% to 17%. Shares will be placed with institutional investors at a price that Reuters reported to stand at between €31.53-32.10, valuing the sale at around €1.1bn.

The buyout houses have been reported to be eyeing the divestment of ProSiebenSat.1 for a while, with first rumours about a possible sale emerging in 2010. 

In Februrary this year, the buyout houses divested a €485m chunk of ProSiebenSat.1 on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The divestment reduced KKR and Permira's stake to 44%. Prior to this, KKR and Permira exited SBS, ProSiebenSat.1's Nordic subsidiary, to trade buyer Discovery Communications for €1.325bn in December 2012.

KKR and Permira sold an 11% stake in the media giant in September, which further reduced their stake to 33%. The GPs sold approximately 25 million shares in a transaction that was said to be valued at around €760m.

KKR and Permira originally acquired a 50% stake in ProSiebenSat.1 via newco Lavena Holding 4 in January 2007, in a deal valued at €3.1bn. The company, which was valued at approximately €5.9bn at the time, was bought from German Media Partners, a consortium made up of financial investors Saban Capital Group, Bain Capital Partners, Hellman & Friedman, Thomas H Lee Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Quadrangle Group and Alpine Equity Partners. Debt for the acquisition was provided by Lehman Brothers, HypoVereinsbank, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America and JP Morgan. Later that year, the GPs bought a further 12% stake previously held by publishing group Axel Springer, worth €509.4m.

In 2009, KKR and Permira were reported to have restructured around €2bn of ProSiebenSat.1's debt

Company
ProSiebenSat.1 is one of Germany's largest TV broadcasting companies, with well-known channels such as SAT.1, ProSieben, kabel eins, sixx, SAT.1 Gold and ProSieben Maxx broadcasting across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Operating under the name Red Arrow Entertainment Group, the firm also produces international TV programmes.

Employing 3,000 staff across 12 countries, the firm is based in Unterföhring, near Munich. ProSiebenSat.1 was founded in 2000. In 2012, the firm reported revenues of €2.35bn and an EBITDA of €680.4m.

People
Johannes Huth and Lord Hollick represented KKR at the time of the initial acquisition, while Thomas Krenz and Götz Mäuser led the transaction for Permira. Thomas Ebeling is ProSiebenSat.1's CEO.

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• Topics
• DACH
• Media
• Exits
• Germany
• KKR
• Permira
• Partial sale