Pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group has agreed a takeover deal for Turkish pay-television operator Digiturk, according to the Star.
The Turkish daily newspaper said the transaction will be worth between $1bn (€909m) and $1.2bn, pending approval from Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF).
In December, various media reports in Turkey said that Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chief executive of beIN Media Group, had agreed to pay $820m for a 53-per-cent stake in Digiturk, which has exclusive media rights for the country’s top-tier football league, the Super Lig, through to the end of the 2016-17 season. However, reports in recent weeks suggested that beIN was in fact targeting complete control of the company.
Digiturk is 53 per cent owned by Turkey’s Cukurova Holding and 47 per cent owned by US private equity group Providence Equity Partners.
Cukurova, which is controlled by Turkish businessman Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, had its Digiturk stake seized in 2013 by the TMSF because of its debts to the state agency.
The Star said beIN has completed sale negotiations with Providence, leaving it free to control all of the shares in Digiturk, pending authorisation from the TMSF.
Turkish-language channel Al Jazeera Turk, part of the media company’s expanding portfolio of platforms, sealed a digital licence in the country in 2013.