After a long negotiation, Mediaset has finally agreed to sell its 22% stake in Canal+ to Telefonica, meaning the telco will own the entire platform and control a customer base of over 2.5 million pay-TV subs.
Mediaset has also become a content provider for the platform through a best-efforts agreement with the telco.
Although the whole operation - Prisa's sale of 56% of Canal+ as well as the deal with Mediaset - are still pending approval by the European Commission and the Spanish regulator, the three parties have presented the final agreement as a win-win situation.
In less than a year Telefonica has become the largest pay-TV operator in Spain, with 2.5 million subs between Movistar TV and Canal+, as well as a 11% share of Mediaset Premium - Mediaset's pay-TV platform in Italy.
On top of the €325 million Telefonica finally offered for the shares Mediaset Spain will also receive up to €30 million depending upon subscription growth over the next four years.
For Prisa, the deal means abandoning the TV business - it sold its free-to-air platform Cuatro a few years ago - and getting a substantial amount of cash to put into its editorial business and radio, as well as its expansion in Latin America.
Although the whole operation - Prisa's sale of 56% of Canal+ as well as the deal with Mediaset - are still pending approval by the European Commission and the Spanish regulator, the three parties have presented the final agreement as a win-win situation.
In less than a year Telefonica has become the largest pay-TV operator in Spain, with 2.5 million subs between Movistar TV and Canal+, as well as a 11% share of Mediaset Premium - Mediaset's pay-TV platform in Italy.
On top of the €325 million Telefonica finally offered for the shares Mediaset Spain will also receive up to €30 million depending upon subscription growth over the next four years.
For Prisa, the deal means abandoning the TV business - it sold its free-to-air platform Cuatro a few years ago - and getting a substantial amount of cash to put into its editorial business and radio, as well as its expansion in Latin America.
