TDC withdraws from MTG TV acquisition

Danish telecoms firm TDC Group’s board of directors has withdrawn from its SEK19.6bn (US$2.5bn) agreement to take over the Nordic TV business belonging to Sweden’s Modern Times Group (MTG).

The deal was unveiled in February and was to include the sale of the MTG Entertainment and MTG Studios units – together known as MTG Nordics – in whole to TDC, the largest telco in Denmark.

However, TDC’s board rowed back on the deal weeks later after the telco became a takeover target itself and has now officially withdrawn its recommendation to combine MTG’s operations.

The Danish company’s bid for MTG was widely panned by investors after it was revealed at the beginning of February, with TDC shares falling by around 8%.

Those shares then soared in value after three pension funds and Australian investment bank Macquarie made an unsolicited offer for the telco.

MTG Nordics includes broadcasting, streaming and distribution operations in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, spanning free and pay TV. It houses the Viasat satellite TV platform, Viaplay digital streaming services, Nice Entertainment production operation and distributor DRG.

Nice is one of Europe’s biggest producers, with a portfolio that includes Monster, One Big Happy Family, Playroom, Rakett and Novemberfilm in Norway, as well as Strix in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, Paprika Latino in Eastern Europe and Redaktörerna in Sweden.

It includes 28 companies in 16 countries and was acquired by MTG in a deal worth €84.4m (US$114.2m) five years ago. Its future and that of its Nordic TV and streamer operations remains unclear.

MTG has been offloading its traditional TV operations over recent years, selling its linear networks and investing in eSports and digital companies.