Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Claxson Interactive Pay Television Networks in Latin America
October 04 2007 - 9:34AM
PR Newswire (US)
ATLANTA, Oct. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Turner Broadcasting
System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.), a Time Warner company, has received
formal approval from the Comision Nacional de Defensa de la
Competencia in Argentina for the acquisition of seven pay
television networks currently operating in the Latin American
market. The official close of the deal was announced today by
Louise Sams, president of TBS International and executive vice
president and general counsel for TBS, Inc., and Roberto
Vivo-Chaneton, chairman and chief executive officer of Claxson. The
new channels will be operated by TBS Latin America, under the
direction of Juan Carlos Urdaneta, its president. Valued at
approximately $234 million, this acquisition includes the following
networks: Fashion TV, HTV, Infinito, I.Sat, MuchMusic, Retro and
Space. In addition, TBS Latin America assumes sales representation
rights for Claxson- and third party-owned networks in Latin
America, and will provide related technical services to these
networks. Through this transaction, Turner Broadcasting's Latin
America portfolio now includes 13 wholly owned television networks
and 10 represented networks. "We are pleased to complete this
strategic acquisition, which greatly enhances Turner's already
compelling portfolio of branded entertainment and news
programming," said Sams. "The addition of these networks will not
only enhance our current channel offerings, but will also allow us
to deliver a whole new range of quality programming genres to
audiences throughout Latin America." Turner Broadcasting's leading
pay television networks in Latin America include CNN International,
TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN en Espanol, Boomerang and TCM Classic
Hollywood. Collectively, they reach some 107 million households and
hotel rooms in the region. Claxson will maintain its interests in
Playboy TV Latin America, Digital Latin America, DMX MUSIC Latin
America, as well as its broadband and Internet division. Bear,
Stearns & Co. Inc. acted as financial adviser to Claxson on the
sale. Claxson (Pink Sheets: XSONF) is a multimedia company
providing branded entertainment content targeted to Spanish and
Portuguese speakers around the world. Claxson has a portfolio of
popular entertainment brands that are distributed over multiple
platforms through its assets in pay television and the Internet.
Headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Miami, Florida,
Claxson has a presence in the United States and all key
Ibero-American countries, including without limitation, Argentina,
Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Spain and Portugal. Claxson's principal
shareholders are the Cisneros Group of Companies and funds
affiliated with Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. Turner
Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major
producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a
leading provider of programming to the cable television industry.
DATASOURCE: Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. CONTACT: Caroline
Rittenberry, +1-404-827-1035, , of TBS Latin America, Inc., or Juan
Iramain, +54-11-43183107, of Turner International Argentina Web
site: http://www.turner.com/
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