Minorities win

1 February 2006 By Nina Koeppen

Now that Springer has abandoned its bid, there is a possibilty that a new bidder will pay more. Minority shareholders in the TV group were being offered a raw deal by the German publisher.

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German publisher Axel Springer on Wednesday abandoned its planned takeover of broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 because of regulatory difficulties.

The news comes almost six months after the deal worth about E4bn was announced.

In light of the numerous economic and legal uncertainties a possible appeal or a possible application for a ministerial permit would have resulted in unacceptable risks for all parties involved, Axel Springer said in a press release.

German cartel office and the country's media watchdog in January both blocked the deal, arguing that the combined entity would wield too much influence on public opinion.

In order to overrule the cartel office's verdict, Springer could have appealed to the economy minister for special dispensation.

ProSieben shares were up 6% late on Wednesday.

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