European media giants team up to invest in digital

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG president and CEO.

Modern Times Group (MTG), ProSiebenSat.1, the UK’s Channel 4, France’s TF1, Turkey’s Dogan TV and Poland’s TVN have teamed up to form an alliance to identify investment opportunities in new digital businesses. 

The new media alliance is intended to create an opportunity for startup companies looking to expand geographically.

The group will invest in consumer-focused digital start-ups, such as classifieds, social media, e-commerce, and marketing companies that are looking to expand their geographical footprint. In return, the alliance members will provide the digital start-ups with certain volumes of advertising media.

Discussions with further potential members are ongoing. The alliance will operate on a non-committal referral basis, whereby members will refer investment opportunities to each other, and decide independently on a case by case basis whether an investment will be made and at what level. MTG said it was interested in equity or revenue-based investments.

“MTG has always been at the forefront of digital development, and working together with ProSieben and others will further accelerate the strong growth we already have in this space. We have done several media for equity deals over the years and know that they can be a very effective way to both accelerate the growth of these businesses and create shareholder value for MTG,” said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG president and CEO. 

TF1 said the partnership would enable it to take part in international investment projects, to benefit from ProSiebenSat.1’s international experience and to build a future R&D strategy.