|
Carlton sells Technicolor
|
 |
December 11, 2000: 9:54 a.m. ET
UK TV firm sells cinema tech unit to France's Thomson Multimedia for $2.1B
|
LONDON (CNNfn) - British broadcaster Carlton Communications PLC sold half the company to France's Thomson Multimedia SA Monday, offloading its film and image processing division Technicolor to the French consumer electronics maker for about $2.1 billion in cash and stock.
In exchange for Technicolor, a fabled name in cinema that accounts for half of Carlton's total revenue, the British TV company will gain a 5.5 percent stake in Thomson, valued at $717 million.
The remaining $1.35 billion will be paid in cash, $600 million of that in staggered payments over a four-year period. Carlton will also invest $15 million in TAK, Thomson's interactive television joint venture with Microsoft. 
The acquisition of Technicolor "would not only enable Thomson to grow its cash flow, but also to strengthen its position as a leading service provider to the media and content industries in the analog to digital transition," Thomson Multimedia chairman and chief executive officer Thierry Breton said in a statement.
Thomson's senior executive vice president Frank Dangeard said the company's purchase of Technicolor would increase earnings by some 30 percent.
"We will give all the detailed figures when we sign a definitive accord. But we can imagine something closer to 30 percent than 10 percent," Reuters quoted Dangeard as saying.
 In London Monday afternoon, shares of Carlton (CCM) rose 7.3 percent to 620 pence, bringing its market value to £4.2 billion ($6 billion). In Paris, Thomson Multimedia (PMMB) rose 1.6 percent, to  52.85, valuing the company at about 14 billion ($12 billion).
Carlton will join fellow Thomson strategic shareholders Alcatel SA (PCGE), General Motors Corp.'s (GM: Research, Estimates) DirecTV Inc., Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: Research, Estimates), and Japan's NEC Corp. The French government holds some 36 percent of the company through Thomson SA.
Carlton's full year revenue for the year ended Sept. 30 increased 7.8 percent to £2.08 billion ($3 billion), of which Technicolor contributed £1.06 billion.
The broadcaster's pretax profit for the year – excluding costs of investment in digital media, losses from discontinued businesses and one-time items – rose 8 percent to £342.2 million from £317.2 million. 
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
