Grupo Prisa, the company that owns El País, is trying to expedite a sale of his 56% stake in Digital+ in order to reduce its high debt load. It is calculated that the deal could yield El País and Cadena Ser around a billion euros. This would be a welcome relief for a group that has been struggling with 3-billion euros of debt. The top contenders for creating a digital news platform are Telefónica and Mediaset, which are already shareholders.
Both Telefónica and Mediaset own 22% of Digital+, and both of them could reap a significant profit with this deal. Buying a majority stake in the platform would allow Telefónica to bring high-definition television to houses all over Spain. Canal Plus can transmit satellite images and this would offer major savings to César Alierta?s multinational company.
Telefónica has the Imagenio platform, which requires fiber optic cables to operate. This technology raises infrastructure costs for customers and restricts installation to urban centers. In addition to this advantage, Digital+ will allow Telefónica to rebroadcast sporting events that Prisa has the rights to. For its part, Mediaset, which owns Telecinco and Cuatro, would earn the rights to air sports events first, which would boost revenue potential for Alejandro Echebarría?s company.
If Prisa sells to his partners at Digital+, the deal could by mutually beneficial to all three companies. But Prisa himself is most interested in closing the deal by the end of the year.