– by Klaus Lauer
Berlin (Reuters) – ProSieben-Sat.1 is cutting jobs, has to postpone the presentation of the balance sheet and the general meeting and could temporarily be removed from the MDax.
The new head of the television group, Bert Habets, actually wanted to present a new strategy on Tuesday, but other topics came into focus at a press conference. They want to reduce costs and are also planning to cut jobs, said Habets, referring to job cuts by other media companies such as RTL and Axel Springer. The scope cannot be quantified at the moment, but negotiations with employee representatives are ongoing. With more clarity, one can inform about savings and the number of jobs affected, said Habets in the Reuters interview. “We probably need a few more weeks.”
Habets, who has been in office since November, announced that the group wanted to focus on entertainment and focus on the streaming service Joyn. “In the future, our investment focus will also be on the entertainment business,” emphasized the Dutch manager and former RTL boss. Joyn, where public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF are already represented, is also open to rival RTL.
The broadcasting chain around ProSieben, Sat.1 and Kabel 1 wants to convert the increasing digital reach into money through advertising technology and increase digital advertising revenues. In the entertainment sector, opportunities for acquisitions are regularly checked, explained ProSiebenSat.1. Habets is sticking to the goal of increasing sales by an average of four to five percent per year in the medium term.
DATING DIVISION NO LONGER CORE BUSINESS – NEW OWNER WANTED
Management wants to look for a new owner for the dating division. “We have clearly defined that the ParshipMeet Group is no longer part of the core business,” Habets told Reuters. The possibility of achieving synergies here is “less and less relevant”. The dating division already makes two-thirds of its sales outside of the German-speaking DACH region. “I think our focus now is on streamlining the operation and then finding the best owner for it as a next step.”
The group had planned an IPO for the ParshipMeet Group, which has been on hold since the Ukraine war. “Going forward, we will consider all strategic options, including an IPO.” Such an IPO is not ruled out, but it is not realistic given the current situation on the capital market, said Habets. The group announced just last week that it would reorganize the management of the ParshipMeet Group, streamline structures and reduce personnel costs – “mainly in the US business of the video segment”.
The Italian major shareholder MFE-Mediaforeurope stated that they took note of ProSiebenSat.1’s announcements and looked forward to an open exchange. MFE, which is run by the family of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, wants to involve ProSiebenSat.1 more closely in its European TV growth plans. Bayern had previously blocked that. Habets said they were in a “much more constructive dialogue” with MFE, but talks were not over. Habets sees the new and second largest shareholder, the Czech PPF group around billionaire Renata Kellnerova, as a long-term investor.
ProSiebenSat.1 also announced that the presentation of the balance sheet for 2022 and the outlook for the current year would be delayed by four to six weeks. This means that the Annual General Meeting previously planned for May 2 has also been postponed. In addition, the company would be temporarily removed from the MDax if no business figures for the past year were available by April 30th. The reason for this are regulatory questions about the business of the voucher subsidiary Jochen Schweizer mydays. The investigation is ongoing and one is in contact with the financial regulator BaFin, said Habets. He has no signals for sanctions or penalties.
After initial losses, the ProSiebenSat.1 share was almost unchanged in the afternoon at around EUR 8.88.
(Report by Klaus Lauer; edited by Hans Seidenstücker; If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at [email protected] (for politics and economics) or [email protected] (for companies and markets). )
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