German media company ProSiebenSat.1 and publishing house Axel Springer have said they have no further partnership plans beyond a new project for digital start-ups following multiple reports earlier this month they were considering a possible merger.
Springer tried to acquire ProSiebenSat.1 a decade ago, but the deal was blocked by competition and media authorities. However, Springer won a legal case last year against Germany’s media watchdog, the KEK, with Germany's federal administrative court ruling the merger would have been unproblematic from a media perspective.
The Wall Street Journal newspaper had said a deal was being considered whereby ProSiebenSat.1 would be the senior partner, while the Reuters news agency also said talks had been revived over a merger. However, both parties have now denied this is the case.
“In our talks with ProSiebenSat.1 we have focused on strong cooperation in the digital area,” an Axel Springer spokeswoman told Reuters. “There are no further plans.” A ProSiebenSat.1 spokesman also said there were no plans for other tie-ups beyond Wednesday’s announced start-up project.
The new initiative aims to promote innovative digital business ideas and start-ups in order to enhance the positioning of Germany as a digital hub on an international level.
ProSiebenSat.1 last week completed its acquisition of a majority stake in the DOSB New Media arm of the German Olympic Committee (DOSB). DOSB New Media operates the DOSB’s online sports television channel, Sportdeutschland.TV. The platform currently shows competitions from more than 70 sports as live streams or on-demand, including the Volleyball Bundesliga, Table Tennis Bundesliga and the 2. Basketball Bundesliga.