Astorg's M7 buys division of Liberty Global's TV operations

Francesca Veronesi
07 January 2019

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Astorg-backed M7 Group, a satellite television company based in Luxembourg, has bought the eastern European direct-to-home television operations of Liberty Global, a TV and broadband company listed on Nasdaq.

This acquisition will enable M7 Group to increase its top line by circa 30% post transaction.

Airbridge Investments first entered the business when it acquired stakes in Canal Digitaal Satelliet and TV Vlaanderen, two companies that later formed part of the M7 group. Providence Equity Partners then acquired a majority stake in the businesses in 2007, while Airbridge retained a minority stake alongside company management.

After Providence and Airbridge were reported in 2013 to be seeking a dividend of approximately €300m from a recapitalisation, Astorg Partners acquired a majority stake in the business in 2014, resulting in a partial exit for Providence Equity Partners. At this stage, both Providence and Airbridge retained a significant minority stake in M7.

Founded as a group in 2009, Luxembourg-headquartered M7 is a provider of satellite and internet services. The company claims to serve around three million viewers via its pay TV platforms: CanalDigitaal and Online.nl in the Netherlands; TV Vlaanderen in Flanders; and TéléSAT in French-speaking Belgium; HD Austria in Austria; Skylink for the Czech and Slovak markets; and M7 Deutschland in Germany.

Company
Liberty Global's direct-to-home satellite TV operations sold in this deal currently serve four eastern European markets (Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia). The brands involved are UPC Direct in Hungary; FreeSat in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; and FocusSat in Romania. The divisions have a total of 800,000 customers.

Founded in 2005, Liberty Global is an international TV and broadband company. Its headquarters are in London, Amsterdam and Denver, and it has operations in Europe under the consumer brands Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet and UPC.

People
M7 Group – Marc Antoine d'Halluin (chairman); Hans Troelstra (CEO); Ernst Jan van Rooijen (CFO).