BeIN Media Group closing in on Digiturk deal – report

Pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group could complete a takeover of Turkish pay-television operator Digiturk in two weeks, according to Reuters.

The news agency, citing three sources familiar with the talks, said negotiations are at an advanced stage, adding that beIN was seeking to buy all of Digiturk.

In December, various media reports in Turkey said that Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chief executive of beIN Media Group, had agreed to pay $820m (€775m) 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.

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 Turkey's Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) because of its debts to the state agency.

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.