(Reuters) – French media mogul Stephane Courbit and his investor partners are said to have offered 20 euros ($19) a share for Bertelsmann SE & Co.’s stake in television company Groupe M6, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.
The offer is a 39% premium to Friday’s closing price of 14.43 euros per share, and values the 48% stake around 1.22 billion euros.
Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky also made an offer for the stake, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately reach Courbit for comment. RTL declined comment while M6 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reuters reported last week that a consortium of high-profile French entrepreneurs including billionaire Rodolphe Saade, Courbit of TV production group Banijay and investor Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere was in pole position to clinch a deal.
Italian broadcaster MediaForEurope, meanwhile, joined forces with French billionaire Xavier Niel to submit a non-binding offer for a controlling stake in M6, two sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Ad: Save every day with Amazon Deals: Check out today's daily deals on Amazon.
In March 2021, when Bertelsmann confirmed talks to sell its stake, French media reported that RTL’s stake was worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.48 billion), valuing all of M6 at about 3 billion euros.
Initial cash offers for RTL’s 48.3% stake in M6 were expected by last Friday afternoon after a planned tie-up between the company and fellow French broadcaster TF1 collapsed the previous week.
($1 = 1.0320 euros)
(Reporting by Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)