RTL Group has confirmed a deal to sell its Belgian business to the local media groups DPG Media and Groupe Rossel for EUR 250 million. The sale will see the broadcaster exit completely the Belgian market, unlike the joint ventures agreed in France and the Netherlands. Pending regulatory approval, the sale is expected to close in Q4, and the proceeds will go towards RTL dividends.
RTL Group was the majority shareholder of RTL Belgium for 33 years, before taking full ownership of RTL Belgium in December 2020. Rossel, which owns the national newspaper Le Soir and several other print titles, was previously a minority shareholder. It will help strengthen RTL's position on the francophone market, while Flanders-based DPG offers synergies with its own TV and radio channels.
RTL Belgium is the leading commercial broadcaster in French in Belgium, operating three free TV channels: RTL-TVI (family, general interest), Club RTL (children, sports, classic movies and series) and Plug RTL (fiction, young culture, reality TV). It also owns radio stations Bel RTL (talk, general interest), Radio Contact (music) and Mint (pop rock music) and operates the streaming service RTL Play and the news website RTLInfo.be.
Rossela and DPG previously worked together in the joint venture Mediafin, which publishes business paper De Tijd/L'Echo. They will each own 50 percent of RTL Belgium.
According to DPG, the companies plan a big digitisation push at RTL, developing more short- and long-form online video as well as digital radio and podcasting services. The two new shareholders also see opportunities to cooperate on the advertising market.
