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German mega-merger dismissed

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and publishing powerhouse Axel Springer have abandoned plans to merge and create a €14.4bn (US$16bn) media company.

Instead, the firms will jointly launch a project to promote digital start-ups in Germany, they said in a statement.

ProSieben and Axel did not confirm reports of the merger earlier this month and a ProSieben spokesman said yesterday: “ProSieben is not planning or contemplating a merger with Axel Springer.”

Such a merger would have attracted anti-trust scrutiny and complications over who would control the company.

Springer moved to buy ProSieben 10 years it ago but was thwarted by Germany’s media watchdog KEK and the country’s anti-trust body.

But since then US streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon, as well as a raft of local players, have entered the German TV market, putting significant pressure on traditional broadcasters.

ProSieben is Germany’s biggest commercial broadcaster, while Axel Springer is the country’s biggest news publisher, owning titles such as Bild, Europe’s best-selling tabloid. ProSieben is the larger company with a market worth of around €9.7bn, while Axel Springer is valued at around €4.7bn.

Last month, Talpa Media, now part of the UK’s ITV, acquired the 50.1% of prodco Talpa Germany (fka Schwartzkopff TV) that it did not already own from Springer.

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