Squirrel buys all of Vocento's stakes in NET TV and Veralia Distribución

The aspirations of Squirrel Media to consolidate itself as a global content generator and distributor, they continue with the acquisition of the stakes of Vocento on NET TV and Veralia Distribución.

The operation, which is scheduled to close in January, consists of the sale of the entire stake of the 55% Vocento on NET TV, national DTT licensee, and 100% of Veralia Film Distribution, a company that owns an important catalog of film rights. The price of the acquisition operation of the stakes related to Vocento has been closed for a value of 18 million euros, and is subject to the relevant administrative authorizations. With this move, Squirrel Media becomes the third national private free-to-air television operator.

Likewise, and as an inseparable part of this operation, it has been offered to the company “The Walt Disney Company Iberia” the possibility of accompanying Vocento in this transaction, offering identical conditions for the acquisition of its 20% in NET TV for a value of 4.36 million euros. The company considers it very likely that the company “The Walt Disney Company Iberia” will accept the aforementioned offer.

Consequently, it plans to formalize the acquisition of 75% of the company NET TV and 100% of the company Veralia Distribución de Cine for a value of 22.36 million euros. The 25thRemaining % of NET TV company It is owned by the company - now bankrupt - Homo Videns, S.A, on which a pledge rests in favor of CaixaBank (currently in the execution phase). It should be noted that they have a closing forecast this year 2021 (with clear COVID impact) of around 25 million euros in turnover, with around 7 million in EBITDA (28% over turnover) and around 5.5 million in net profit (22% over turnover).

Amortization in three and a half years

Squirrel Media has acquired the companies at a valuation multiple EBITDA inferior a 3,3 (and on some fundamentals of the year 2021 affected by the pandemic) and estimates that it will amortize this investment within three and a half years.

The company Veralia Distribución de Cine will be acquired by the distributor of the Vértice Cinema Group and through the merger by absorption modality, which will optimize the company's taxation. Likewise, it is acquired free of any employee and without any marketing company, which will imply, according to Squirrel Media, an important optimization, increasing by more than 20% the fundamentals currently existing in that company. The acquisitions described will be financed 49% by Squirrel Media's own funds and 51% by CaixaBank.

Squirrel Media presence in the sector

Thanks to this acquisition, Squirrel Media becomes the third private national free-to-air television operator in Spain, only behind Mediaset and Atresmedia. NET TV, licensee company of two national DTT channels, co-manages two of the most relevant national free-to-air channels: Paramount y Disney Channel. Both Disney and ViacomCBS have long-term industry collaboration agreements with NET TV that they will maintain.

To the previously mentioned offer, the free-to-air channel is now added GOOD CINE, managed directly by Squirrel Media, which is the licensee of five other regional free-to-air DTT television licenses, specifically, in Madrid, Andalusia, Valencia, Galicia and Murcia. This acquisition, framed within Squirrel Media's strategy, allows it to expand its independence and increase the number of its own distribution windows (nationally and internationally) "at the same time establishing itself as a global television operator," according to the company itself.