March 09, 2010

The year 2010 will be the year of the private equity exit from European cable with sales likely in several European countries this year. Screen Digest predicts that deal activity will pick up rapidly during 2010 as the private equity investors which bought into the industry following the dot-com crash seek a return on their investment. Exit routes will include IPOs, trade sales and sale to new private equity owners, with deals predicted in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Content deals and acquisitions are also likely to come to the fore following precedents set by the Comcast/NBC Universal deal as cable operators seek to take their businesses 'beyond speed'. The facts, figures and trends in the cable industry for 2010 where presented at the recent Cable Congress 2010 conference and trade show in Brussels by Director or Research, Television, Guy Bisson.

Tags: