Spain’s anti-trust regulator, the Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y La Competencia (CNMC), has opened an investigation into the Mediapro agency in relation to possible anti-competitive practices.
The CNMC said the investigation relates to allegations of applying “discriminatory and unequal business conditions” to pay-television operators in Spain interested in carrying the beIN Sports and beIN LaLiga channels marketed by Mediapro, the latter of which broadcasts games from the top division of Spanish football.
The regulator said the complaint applies in particular to over-the-top pay-television operators. It has been filed by Obwan Networks and Services, which sells Spanish sports content on pay-television platform Opensport.
The CNMC said there are “reasonable indications” of an infringement of Spanish and European competition rules, adding that proceedings could last a maximum of 18 months. A Mediapro spokeswoman told the Reuters news agency that the company believes it has not committed any offence.
Mediapro is currently up for sale with El Confidencial reporting last month that venture capital funds Access Industries, Advent International and Pamplona Capital Management are the three finalists in contention to acquire a controlling stake in Imagina, the agency’s operator.
The Spanish news website said the three finalists have come forward with reported Chinese interest in the stake having fallen away in the past two months. A stake in Imagina is up for offer because Spanish private equity firm Torreal has said it intends to sell its 23 per cent holding. Besides Torreal, advertising giant WPP also has a 23 per cent stake, while Mexican media group Televisa owns 19 per cent and directors Tatxo Benet, Jaume Roures and Gerard Romy each hold around 12 per cent.
El Confidencial said that along with Torreal’s stake, remaining shareholders have committed to give up at least a 51 per cent share in Imagine, with Televisa dropping its entire package. Mediapro has domestic rights to LaLiga and also markets international rights to the top Spanish football division.