August 28 (SeeNews) - Swedish media company Modern Times Group (MTG) said it has secured a 3.0 billion Swedish crowns (318.100 million euro) credit to finance the acquisition of Bulgaria's Nova TV.
"The new credit facility, combined with our existing funding, provides for the full financing of our acquisition of Nova ahead of the closing of the transaction. It also provides us with the continued flexibility to invest in our existing and new businesses and enhance shareholder returns moving forward," Hans-Holger Albrecht, President and CEO of MTG, said in a statement posted on MTG’s web site late on Wednesday.
The Swedish media group said on July 31 that it signed an agreement to buy 100% of Nova TV for 620 million euro ($916 million) from Greece's Antenna Group.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of October, MTG said in the statement.
The credit, provided by Sweden-based banks SEB and Nordea, is available for 12 months from initial draw down on the closing of the transaction, with an option to extend for a further six months, the statement added.
In Bulgaria, the Swedish group owns the Diema channels after it bought last year 50% of Balkan Media Group Limited (BMGL) from British intellectual property and branded content company Apace Media for 8.5 million euro. BMGL owns 100% of Bulgarian cable broadcaster Diema Vision, which runs four cable television channels - Diema Plus, Diema 2, Diema Extra and Diema Family; 66% of music media group Television MM, which runs the musical channels MM and M2; 100% in both Apace Internet Balkans and Apace Media Bulgaria and 66% in Macedonian terrestrial television channel TV Era.
(1 euro= 9.4301 Swedish crowns)