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Investing.com -- RTL Group (ETR:RRTL) stock edged up 0.5% following the announcement of its acquisition of Sky Deutschland from Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) for an initial payment of €150 million.
The deal includes a variable additional payment ranging from €220 million to €377 million, depending on RTL’s share price within five years after closing. The complementary payment would be €220 million if RTL’s share price reaches €41, or up to €377 million at €70 per share, with Comcast having discretion on timing.
Sky Deutschland has shown stagnant growth since 2016 and is currently operating at a loss, though RTL noted it is "on track for EBITDA break-even." The transaction is expected to close sometime in 2026, with RTL projecting €250 million in synergies three years after completion.
Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts commented on the strategic move: "From a strategic stand-point, RTL has decided that a pay offer was the way to fight back against the structural headwinds in their core television ad business. We think that the ad-funded streaming strategy of all the other quoted European broadcasters (ITVX, TF1+, M6+, Joyn, etc.) makes more sense, but this die has been cast.
Therefore, doubling up on pay can make sense if executed properly. With a closing in 2026 and with three years to achieve synergies, we won’t know for a while whether RTL will rise and fall based on quarterly TV ad trends (what else is new!). Current trends appear lacklustre, hence our Equal Weight, but we like the price paid for Sky Deutschland."
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