Talpa takes full SBS ownership

John De Mol’s Talpa Holding has taken full ownership of Dutch commercial broadcaster SBS, buying the 67% it didn’t already own from Finland’s Sanoma.

John de Mol

The deal will give De Mol ownership of Dutch TV channels SBS6, NET5, Veronica and SBS9.

De Mol and Finnish media company Sanoma bought the broadcaster from Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1 for €1.23bn (US$1.77bn) in 2011, with Talpa Holding taking a 33% stake.

Talpa Holding is the holding company for De Mol’s media activities. The company was founded in 2005 and is the owner of Talpa Radio, the largest music entertainment company in the Netherlands, consisting of the channels 538, Radio 10, Sky Radio and Radio Veronica.

The Voice producer Talpa Media, formerly part of Talpa Holding, was acquired by UK commercial broadcaster ITV in 2015. It continues to be responsible for the management of the company and the creation and production of television formats and concepts.

Talpa Holding said today the move to fully acquire SBS, which trails its larger commercial rival RTL in the ratings, would further develop its business as a Dutch multimedia company with strong positions in TV, radio, print and online. De Mol, known as the creator of Big Brother, among other formats, recently lost a court battle to acquire newspaper business Telegraaf Media Group.

As part of the SBS deal, financial details of which were not disclosed, Talpa’s stake in the TV guide business Veronica Uitgeverij will be sold to Sanoma.

Talpa said it expects to close the acquisition relatively soon, pending regulatory approvals and completion of other review and approval procedures.

De Mol said: “I strongly believe in a strong Dutch multimedia company that is flexible enough to respond to the changing media landscape, which is primarily a consequence of rapid technological developments.

“SBS is a unique media asset which will be a key link in the new multimedia company. Access to innovative content and other platforms will be an important addition. The proposition that follows is interesting for viewers, readers, listeners, consumers and advertisers.”