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Time Warner revises Endemol bid

Time Warner has made a new billion-dollar cash offer for Endemol, as the Big Brother superindie’s debt restructuring nears completion.

The bid is thought to be worth €1bn (US$1.3bn) – the same amount as Time Warner’s first, which was turned down. That earlier bid included debt but the new offer is for cash, an Endemol spokesman confirmed.

The company remains locked in talks with lenders over debt estimated at €2.8bn, with a deadline for the reorganisation passing tomorrow, according to The New York Post.

“We remain focused on discussions with lenders and those have entered the final stages. We are confident a solution that puts the company on a firm financial footing is imminent,” said a spokesman.

New York-based Time Warner remains hungry for global acquisitions. Last year its subsidiary Warner Bros bought European superindie Shed Media, which is behind formats such as Who Do You Think You Are? and Supernanny. Time Warner couldn’t be contacted today.

Endemol, which is also behind Wipeout and Deal or No Deal, has already received a rival bid from Italian shareholder Mediaset. Silvio Berlusconi’s media group has partnered with Milan-based private equity firm Clessidra on the offer.

But Mediaset has warned it will not be drawn into a bidding war. The company already owns a third of Endemol, while investment bank Goldman Sachs and Cyrte, the Dutch investment vehicle owned by Endemol founder John de Mol, hold the remainder.

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Last week, C21 reported another potential bidder, UK broadcaster ITV, had ruled itself out of the running and would instead focus on “organic” growth through its production arm ITV Studios. Elsewhere, European broadcaster RTL has also played down talk of a bid.

Mediaset, Goldman Sachs and Cyrte paid €3.4bn for Endemol in 2007, which had previously been bought by Telefonica for €5.5bn in 2000. De Mol founded the company in 1994 and went on to launch many of the world’s best-known television formats.

Endemol remains on the hunt for a new CEO, who will likely be appointed after a new deal is in place. Former incumbent Ynon Kreiz left in June this year.

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