Stake Sale by Ubm Hands Channel Five to Germans

Evening Standard - London (July 20, 2005)

Author: Jim Armitage

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Summary

CHANNEL Five Television was today taken over by the Germans as Bertelsmann's European broadcasting group RTL bought out United Business Media's 35% stake for Pounds 247.6 million.

RTL will use its 100% ownership of Five to give it more flexibility to battle with its terrestrial and digital rivals. The move could presage attempts to merge with other broadcasters following last year's abandoned talks with Channel 4 and is also likely to trigger more investment in programming and a launch into new digital channels.

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Extract

Stake Sale by Ubm Hands Channel Five to Germans

An RTL spokesman pledged the new ownership structure would accelerate the push upmarket ...

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