Media mogul John de Mol bids to buy Dutch newspaper Telegraaf parent TMG

Dutch media mogul John de Mol's company Talpa made a bid for acquiring media group TMG, the parent company of Dutch newspapers De Telegraaf and Metro, among others. The offer price is 5.90 euros per share, Talpa announced on Monday, ANP reports.

Talpa's bid is 0.65 euros per share higher than a bid made by the Belgian Mediahuis and the Van Puijenbroek family's VP Exploitatie, according to the news wire. It is also 70 percent higher than TMG's closing price on December last year, though that price was a day before it was announced that Mediahuis and VP Exploitatie are interested. The Van Puijenbroek family is currently the main shareholder in TMG, owning 40 percent of the shares.

"After evaluating the bid Talpa concluded that the offer of 5.25 euros of the consortium [Mediahuis and VP Exploitatie] does not show a strong belief in the power of TMB", Talpa said on Monday. "This offer means a significantly higher price for shareholders, a price which also reflects the actual value of TMG and recognizes the potential of TMG."

Tapa owns, among other things, the broadcasters 538, Radio 10, Sky Radio and radio Veronica. Last week it also became clear that De Mol increased his stake in TMG and now owns 20.59 percent of its shares. According to Talpa, the newspaper company is of strategic interest to the company and selling its current shares in TMG to the consortium is out of the question.

On Monday TMG called Talpa's bid "unasked for, non-binding and conditional". The media group stated that the board of directors and supervisory board will carefully evaluate the offer, explicitly taking into account the will of all stakeholders, including the shareholders. The offer will be compared to other strategic alternatives, including a continued independent existence and a possible merge with Mediahuis. TMG will make no further comments at this time.

Mediahuis and the Van Puijenbroek family are examining the situation, a spokesperson said, according to ANP.

It is unclear whether De Mol and the Van Puijenbroek family are in contact with one another on this matter. Given the family's majority share in TMG, De Mol's acquisition of the media group will be virtually impossible without their support.