James Murdoch, co-chief operating officer of 21st Century Fox, has said he remains hopeful that German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland can conclude a deal to acquire Plazamedia, the sports production subsidiary of media company Constantin Medien.
A deal for Constantin to sell Plazamedia and significant minority stakes in German sports broadcaster Sport1 and the Constantin Sport Marketing division to Sky Deutschland, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, collapsed last month.
The €57.5m ($80m) deal, which was announced in December, was subject to a new ‘multi-year production framework contract’ being concluded between Sport1 and Plazamedia. However, it fell through after Constantin said that no agreement had been reached.
Murdoch told German newspaper Handelsblatt that the setback will not deter Sky Deutschland, adding there is no time pressure to conclude a deal.
“An acquisition would make sense, since Plazamedia produces the (football) Bundesliga for us,” Murdoch said. “Hopefully, we’ll still be able to finalise the deal.”