Prisa wants €2.4bn for Digital+

Prisa is looking for at least €2.4bn for its Spanish pay-TV operator Digital+. Prisa has valued Digital+ at up to €3.85bn but the whole audiovisual and media market knows reaching this figure is highly difficult, especially in the current market.

This amount would allow Prisa to pay off its debt obligations that fall due in March next year. "Prisa's main worry carries on being its debt and its recapitalization. The depth of the present crisis makes the market not ideal for the sale of capital shares but we need this capital," explained Deutsch Bank's analyst Luis FaÒanas.

The fact is that Prisa's present debt amounts to €4.8bn, or seven times its EBITDA for next year. By the end of next month Prisa hopes to have the definite short list for the purchase of Digital+. Banking institutions HSBC and Morgan Stanley are carrying out the selection process. The joint-venture TelefÛnica-Vivendi is currently seen as the most likely to buy the operator.