Qatar's BeIN Sports In Advanced Talks With Turkish Pay-TV Platform Digiturk

Two sources said that Qatar-owned broadcaster beIN Sports "is in advanced talks to buy Turkey’s biggest pay-TV platform Digiturk," according to Ersoy & Nair of BLOOMBERG. Sources said that a deal with beIN Sports "may be signed within weeks." They added that the Qatari group "may pay as much" as $1.5B. The sources said that Cukurova Holding AS, "an Istanbul-based group owned by Turkish billionaire Mehmet Emin Karamehmet," is selling its 53% stake in Digiturk, while U.S. buyout firm Providence Equity Partners Inc. and other shareholders are selling the remaining 47%. Cukurova is selling Digiturk, which holds the rights to broadcast Turkey’s Super Lig football games until the end of the '16-17 season, "to pay back the government’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund." Digiturk "has more than 2.7 million subscribers in Turkey" (BLOOMBERG, 6/23).