Liberty Global-owned UPC Ireland has agreed to pay €80 million to acquire free-to-air TV broadcaster TV3 from private equity firm Doughty Hanson.
In a statement late last week, Ireland’s largest cableco said it will pay up to €7 million extra if TV3 meets certain unspecified performance targets. The deal will be funded via existing liquidity.
With an audience share of 12%, TV3 is Ireland’s second most popular channel after public broadcaster RTÉ’s flagship channel RTÉ1. TV3 also broadcasts youth-focused channel 3e and video-on-demand service 3player.
"We’re pleased to welcome TV3 to the Liberty Global family. The investment we are making today secures the long-term future of TV3. With its wide range of home-grown programming, TV3 holds a unique place in the heart of Irish viewers," said Magnus Ternsj&o uml;, CEO of UPC Ireland, in a statement on Friday.
"We are pleased that our investment in TV3 has come to this successful conclusion", said Doughty Hanson principal Christopher Fielding. "[CEO] David McRedmond and his team have ably steered TV3 through the recession and with our support, grown it for five consecutive years. We wish TV3 and Liberty Global every success in the future."
UPC is Ireland’s biggest cable provider by subscribers, with 387,000 TV customers and 366,000 broadband customers at the end of March.
With a market share of 28.8% at the end of Q1, it is the country’s second-largest residential fixed broadband provider behind Eircom, which accounts for 35.8% of the market, according to regulator ComReg.
UPC’s acquisition of TV3 is subject to approval from Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, as well as a separate media plurality test by the Irish government.
UPC said it expects the transaction to be cleared "in the coming months."
