Zee Telefilms takes 50-per cent stake in Ten Sports

13 November 2006

Mumbai: Zee Telefilms Ltd will acquire a 50-per cent stake in the Dubai-based sports channel, Ten Sports for an enterprise value of $114 million (approximately Rs513 crore).

Ten Sports is owned by Abdul Rahman Bukhatir's Taj Television Ltd, a part of Bukhatir Investments Ltd, and is based out of Dubai Media City in the UAE.

Ten Sports has rights to leading cricket properties like Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket Board and the West Indies Cricket Board. These combined with the BCCI neutral venue rights that Zee Sports has, would create the single largest cricket programming.

It also has rights to the UEFA Champions League, WWE, US Open, Hockey World Cup, which rate amongst other popular programmes in India. Zee Sports also has the rights to Indian football, Davis Cup, WTA, Italian Series A. According to Zee Telefilms, both the sports channels will be able to leverage these properties to their maximum potential across both their platforms.

Ten Sports, which is headquartered in Dubai Media City, also operates separate broadcasts in the Middle East, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Hong Kong.

"This acquisition is an important step from Zee towards consolidation in the media industry," said Subhash Chandra, chairman, Zee Telefilms Ltd, in a communiqué to stock exchanges. "We are confident that this will add significant value for the shareholders of Zee. The acquisition of a stake in Ten Sports not only gives us a strong foothold in the arena of sports broadcasting across Asia but also strengthens our operations in the Middle East."