Viaplay has splashed out SEK1.1B ($110M) on the remaining 50% of satellite firm Allente Group.
Following the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, the recently under fire Scandi major has revised full-year outlook for 2025 plus its longer-term ambitions, demonstrating confidence in profit margin after two years of strife.
Allente, which provides satellite TVs and services in Denmark, Finand, Norway and Sweden, was established in 2020 as a JV between Viaplay (then Nordic Entertainment Group) and Canal Digital-owner Telenor. Today, Viaplay is buying the remaining 50% from Telenor via available cash and a new SEK1.726M term loan facility.
Viaplay has “renegotiated existing bank agreements to allow for the transaction and the accelerated transformation,” it said. In conjunction with the acquisition, a new working capital facility equivalent to SEK2.5B has been established and the company will be cancelling its existing €646M guarantee facility.
Viaplay boss Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, who has been steadying the ship of late, said the “transaction is expected to create opportunities for both Allente and Viaplay Group to expand their customer base, enhance product and service offerings as well as promote operational and commercial synergies such as new product opportunities and offerings across platforms and markets.”
Last year, Allente turned over SEK6.5B, which was around a third of Viaplay’s total revenue.
Financials have now been revised. Viaplay now expects core net sales of between SEK21B and SEK22B for full year 2025, which is equal to more than $2B in American terms. In the longer-term, Viaplay now expects “on average flat” sales between 2025 and 2028 but double-digit EBITDA margins by 2028 – a shift from the previous ambition.
Viaplay’s Q2 results showed a small dip in total turnover to SEK4.3B, although operating income returned to the black (SEK84M).
Last year, the Scandi outfit rubberstamped a deal for Canal+ and investment firm PPF to each take a 29% stake in Viaplay via a recapitalization program. This followed a topsy-turvy 12 months during which around 25% of the company laid off.
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