Digiturk to Offer IPO
Digiturk, Turkey’s largest digital television broadcaster, plans to raise as much as $550m in an IPO of 25 per cent of its business, MSNBC reports:
The company is controlled by Istanbul-based conglomerate Cukurova and Providence Equity Partners, a private equity group specialising in media, entertainment, communications and information services. The pair are selling down their holding from 100 to 75 per cent.
The Turkish media sector is experiencing a boom as the country’s strong economic performance drives up advertising revenues. Last year Turkish companies spent 3.7bn lira ($3bn) on advertising, a 23 per cent jump from 2005.
A banker familiar with the situation said: "Advertising spend per capita is still comparatively low in Turkey, at $15 per capita compared to $43 per capita in eastern Europe. This is an under-penetrated market with a relatively young population and these things together add up to good prospects [for Digiturk]."
In the six months to June Digiturk derived 73 per cent of its revenues from subscription fees and 19 per cent from advertising and sponsorship.
Founded in 1999, Digiturk is run by its original management team. It broadcasts 151 Turkish and international channels, 99 of which are exclusive to the provider, and has 1.77m subscribers, having achieved compound annual growth of approximately 40 per cent since 2000.
Digiturk’s programming is carried by Eutelsat’s W3A satellite at 7 West, whose coverage area can be seen here. Digiturk also provides a crucial cultural link back home for the estimated 3 million Turks living as expatriates in Europe. Eutelsat’s sales jumped 6.2% in Q1 of this year.
Also check out this commercial for Digiturk, courtesy of Youtube:
