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LONDON - Billionaire industrialist Len Blavatnik is expanding his media portfolio with a deal to buy Premium TV, which operates digital services for clients ranging from Britain's Chelsea soccer club to Warner Music.
Blavatnik's Access Industries said today it has agreed to acquire the firm from PTV Inc., a company managed by turnaround specialists Quest Turnaround Advisors.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the price was more than £24 million ($NZ61.9 million), a person familiar with the situation said.
UK-based Premium TV hosts more than 150 websites and says it is the largest streamer of live events in Europe, allowing viewers to see more than 8,000 of them a year. It boasts 100 million page views and 10 million unique users.
It also recently signed a deal with UK cable operator Virgin Media to produce broadband programming of British soccer matches.
When Quest took over the business in 2002 from Virgin's predecessor company, NTL, it had £30 million of liabilities and faltering deals with UK football clubs. Premium TV is now profitable, Quest said.
"From here, with Access's strategic and financial backing, we aim to grow our international presence significantly," Premium TV Chief Executive Oliver Slipper said.
The firms expect the deal to close at the end of July.
Access owns stakes in Russian TV broadcaster CTC Media, British pay-TV scheme Top Up TV, mobile messaging firm Acision and Warner Music.
Blavatnik, who was raised in Russia and ranked 40th on Forbes' richest Americans list last year with an estimated $US 7 billion in assets, also owns chemicals and plastics maker Basell and a stake in UC RUSAL, the world's largest aluminium producer.
- REUTERS
