German media companies Axel Springer and Constantin Medien have entered into exclusive talks over the former’s acquisition of sports broadcaster Sport1, according to multiple reports.
German newspaper Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung and the Reuters news agency both reported on the negotiations, with the latter stating that Axel Springer has offered more than €80m ($95.7m) for Sport1.
Constantin Medien last month launched a bidding process with the aim of selling all its shares in Sport1 and the Sport1 Media advertising sales agency. The shares are held by the media company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Constantin Sport Holding.
Constantin was said to have been in talks with Axel Springer, pay-television broadcaster Sky and other investment vehicles, as well as internet company Freenet.
Reuters said Sky has now dropped out of the running, while FAZ stated that the broadcaster, along with Freenet, could yet be ready to strike a deal should Axel Springer fail to conclude an agreement.
The decision to explore a sale of Sport1 and the Sport1 Media divisions was viewed with surprise in some quarters. In November, Constantin announced plans to launch a second free-to-air sports channel as part of an apparent strategic shift that would have allowed the company to concentrate its efforts on the sports sector.
However, a power struggle at the helm of Constantin has raised question marks about the future direction of the company. In December a takeover approach by Constantin’s supervisory board chairman, Dieter Hahn, for the media company and its subsidiary, Highlight Communications, was rejected.
Constantin operates free-to-air channel Sport1 and pay-television channels Sport1 Plus and Sport1 US, as well as the Team Marketing agency. Sport1 has rights for a number of football properties, including the German Bundesliga.