Bertelsmann (the privately-owned majority shareholder in European broadcaster RTL) has reportedly approached potential bidders including Vivendi, Altice and TF1 in a bid to sell RTL’s 48% stake in M6 which has a market cap of €1.8 bn. Goldman Sachs has assessed its significance to French media ownership rules as follows:
- No single company can own more than 49% of a terrestrial broadcaster with over 2.5% audience share in France (M6 Group is the country’s second-largest commercial broadcaster, with an audience share of 14.6% in 2020). So, the potential sale of RTL’s 45% stake in M6 would not trigger a mandatory takeover offer.
- No single company can own more than 7 terrestrial licences. M6 currently has 5 licences, TF1 5, Canal+ (Vivendi) 7 and Altice 3. A combination of M6 with TF1 or Canal+ would, therefore, be difficult – without divestments.
- Consolidation among broadcasters would benefit all local players (pricing and competition for programming rights), especially French broadcasters TF1, M6 and Vivendi, given that the French TV market has historically been one of the most fragmented and competitive markets in Western Europe (with the lowest operating margins), with 27 free channels owned by 7 groups. Some concentration is reckoned by industry players to be necessary in order to compete with global streaming giants like Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video.
- Bertelsmann/ RTL has been reshuffling its portfolio in recent years and reducing its presence in France with the sale of RTL Radio France to M6 in 2016 and the proposed sale of PRISMA Media magazines to Vivendi. RTL also operates the largest commercial TV groups in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium and owns a 20% stake in Atresmedia (No.2 player in Spain).
