The consortium which last month acquired 75 percent of European TV producer Endemol from Telefonica for EUR 3.6 billion is now buying up the remaining stake. Endemol co-founder John de Mol’s investment firm, Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset and Goldman Sachs, operating as Edam Acquisition, tabled an offer to buy-out Endemol NV for EUR 24.55 — the same price agreed for the Telefonica stake. (Release).
Dutch company Endemol found success with the Big Brother franchise and has helped pioneer participation TV, through which viewers interact using SMS and voice calls to influence programming. The company has also made a series of iTV games amongst its digital and mobile productions. This minor-stake acquisition is, of course, conditional on Edam completing the acquisition of the larger stake from Telefonica – and that will be subject to competition tests in Austria and Germany.