Board, De Mol close to $77m offer for RDF

The board of Wife Swap producer RDF Media is in the advanced stages of a £50m (US$76.7m) takeover bid for the company in partnership with Endemol co-founder John de Mol’s investment vehicle Cyrte.

In July, RDF confirmed de Mol’s firm had been one of the parties involved in its previously announced management buyout attempt, adding that negotiations “remain ongoing.”

The buyout is being led by RDF Media’s founder and chief executive David Frank. Frank and De Mol’s proposal was announced today by RDF’s independent directors, Richard Eyre, Maggie Carver and Tim Weller.

“The board of RDF Media confirms this announcement has been made with the consent of the consortium. However, there is no certainty that a formal offer will be made for the company,” they told the stock exchange today.

The company’s share price rocketed by 35.25%, or 24.5p, this morning following the news.

It is understood that the buyout team has been trying to put together the financing to carry out the deal amid the worsening financial situation.

RDF’s market capitalisation is currently £30.1m, having fallen by 65.4p a share in the past year. It floated on London’s Alternative Investment Market for £48.8m in 2005.

In its results for the six months to the end of July, RDF reported increased pre-tax losses due to the commissioning hiatus imposed by the BBC and ITV after the ‘Queengate’ affair.

The company posted a pre-tax loss of £1.5m, compared with £199,000 for the same period last year. However, revenues rose by 10.5% from £51.6m to £57m.