Time Warner bids a euro-billion for Big Brother maker Endemol
Endemol, the Dutch producer of TV shows including "Big Brother" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," is reported to be the target of an offer of one billion euros from American giant Time Warner.
Big Brother maker is bid target
Endemol has been looking at how to restructure its debt of 2.8 billion euros
because widening losses may cause it to breach its loan covenants . Now Time Warner has presented a new possibility, says AdAge magazine.
"We've received an approach from them which offers an alternative to the lenders as the talks on debt restructuring are continuing," said Charlie Armitstead, an Endemol spokesman in London. Keith Cocozza, a spokesman for Time Warner, declined to comment .
It is understood Time Warner hasn't given a deadline for Endemol to respond.
Endemol last changed hands in 2007, when a consortium of buyers including Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset and Goldman Sachs Group bought it using 2.8 billion euros of leveraged loans.
Endemol's enterprise value has fallen to between 800 million euros and 1.2 billion euros from 3.1 billion euros four years ago, said AdAge, quoting people with "knowledge of the situation ".
In June, Endemol Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ynon Kreiz resigned because of differences about the company's future direction.