RTL to sell Dutch subsidiary to DPG Media for 1.1 billion euros in cash

BERLIN (Reuters) -European broadcaster RTL Group said on Friday that it would sell its Dutch subsidiary RTL Nederland to Belgium-based DPG Media in a deal worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.21 billion) that will also see the two companies enter into a strategic partnership.

The deal comes nearly a year after Dutch competition authorities blocked RTL's plans to acquire rival Talpa, saying the combination would be too dominant in the Dutch market.

To be able to invest and compete with the likes of international streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney, companies have to get bigger, RTL Group Chief Executive Thomas Rabe told Reuters.

"If we cannot do this scaling through consolidation ourselves, then we are prepared to take other paths - such as this sale in the Netherlands," he said.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the all-cash transaction is expected to close around mid-2024 and will result in a profit of approximately 800 million euros, according to the RTL Group.

"Together with our leading TV brands VTM and RTL Belgium, we will be able to build a group that has the necessary scale to invest in the digital transformation of television," said DPG Media Group executive chairman Christian Van Thillo in a statement.

DPG Media controls several national and regional Dutch newspapers and also owns the top-selling Donald Duck comic, as well as a number of popular women's magazines.

($1 = 0.9098 euros)

(Reporting by Klaus Lauer and Toby Sterling, Writing by Miranda Murray, Editing by Rachel More and Linda Pasquini)