Sweden's Viaplay agrees to sell Premier Sports back to SSBL, report says
29/11/2023 22:09
STOCKHOLM, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Crisis-hit Swedish
streaming group Viaplay VPLAYb.ST has agreed to sell Premier
Sports in Britain to SSBL, from which it bought the TV channel
last year, business daily Dagens Industri reported late on
Wednesday.
Viaplay announced its entry into Britain in July last year
with the acquisition of the channel, and unveiled plans to enter
several new markets in the face of more competition from the
likes of Netflix and HBO Max.
Slammed by a drop in demand, however, in July this year it
said it would shift focus towards its core Nordic, Netherlands
and Viaplay Select operations, while considering downsizing,
partnering, or exiting other markets.
"We have agreed to sell our British operations back to the
previous owners SSBL Ltd (Premier Sports). This is in line with
Viaplay Group's strategy and plan that we presented in July,"
Dagens Industri quoted a Viaplay spokesperson as saying.
Viaplay, which is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on
Thursday after delays, did not immediately respond to a request
for comment.
The group said in October it was in talks with three major
shareholders as well as lenders and bondholders regarding a
potential recapitalisation of the group, and was also in
discussions to sell non-core operations.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Deepa Babington)
((anna.ringstrom@thomsonreuters.com;))