Bonnier Buys Stake in C More To Become Sole Owner

STOCKHOLM--Swedish media and publishing company Bonnier AB Friday said it is resuming full ownership of premium pay-TV company C More Entertainment by acquiring a 35% stake in the company held by Norway's Telenor ASA (TEL.OS).

Bonnier, which didn't disclose the purchase price, said that becoming C More's sole owner will allow it to better identify the best possible structure and direction for C More.

C More is the largest premium pay-TV service in the Nordics that previously operated under the CANAL+ brand.

Bonnier's TV4 Group acquired C More from Germany's ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG in 2008 in a deal that valued the business at EUR320 million. Telenor, Norway's main telecom operator, acquired its 35% stake in the company in 2011.

Bonnier's deal comes as traditional television viewing is in rapid decline in Sweden, where an increasing number of people have started cutting their television chords in favor of streaming video online from services offered by the likes of Netflix Inc. (NFLX) and Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) HBO.

Write to Sven Grundberg at [e-mail]; Twitter: @svengrundberg

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