Bertelsmann eyes acquisitions, IPO of call-centre venture - CEO (updated)

RTL SA

31/08/2021 09:10

(Adds CEO quotes, detail)
    BERLIN, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Bertelsmann  BTGGg.F  has the
financial firepower to invest 2-3 billion euros ($2.4-$3.6
billion) in acquisitions, CEO Thomas Rabe said on Tuesday after
the German publishing group posted strong first-half results.
    Rabe also confirmed a report that an initial public offering
of call-centre business Majorel - a 50-50 joint venture with
Moroccan partner Saham - was under consideration while adding
that no decision had been taken on timing.
    "An IPO is always an option," Rabe told reporters when asked
about Majorel.
    Business daily Handelsblatt reported recently that JP
Morgan, Citigroup and BNP Paribas had been hired to float
Majorel in Amsterdam this autumn in a deal that could value the
business at 3 billion euros.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2PN10D
    "Majorel has fantastic momentum and has developed to the
great satisfaction of its owners," said Rabe of the venture that
was struck in 2018 and employs more than 60,000 staff in 31
countries.
    Privately-held Bertelsmann - whose interests include
broadcaster RTL Group  RRTL.DE , book publisher Penguin Random
House and music publisher BMG - reported double-digit revenue
growth and record profit of 1.4 billion euros in the first half.
    Bertelsmann also raised its outlook and, with net debts on a
downward trajectory, Rabe said it had enough firepower to grow
through acquisitions while remaining a private company.
    Of the cash available for deals, Rabe said part would go
towards the proposed $2.2 billion takeover of publisher Simon &
Schuster, which has been cleared in Britain but awaits approval
from the U.S. regulator.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2IB336
    Otherwise, he was looking at deals to bulk up Bertelsmann's
education offering and to lift TV production business Fremantle
towards its mid-term goal of 3 billion euros in annual revenue.
 ($1 = 0.8457 euros)

 (Reporting by Douglas Busvine
Editing by Riham Alkousaa, Kirsti Knolle)
 ((douglas.busvine@tr.com; +49 30 220 133 562;))