Endemol a likely Setanta investor

ENDEMOL, the Dutch television production company best known for creating the Big Brother reality show franchise, has emerged as one of the likely additional investors necessary to keep ailing sports broadcaster Setanta from going out of business.

Although Setanta’s spokespeople declined to comment yesterday, it is understood reports in areas of the British press over the weekend, have foundation.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Endemol, which also produces viewer favourites like Deal or No Deal and Ready, Steady, Cook, will form part of the add-on element to Setanta’s rescue consortium which already includes its two Irish founders Leonard Ryan and Michael O’Rourke and New York-based Russian-born investor Len Blavatnik.

It emerged on Friday that Mr Blavatnik had joined the rescue package by offering £20m (€23.52m) in return for a 51% stake. He had been a minority shareholder in the Irish-founded broadcaster.

However, it was thought more investors would need to put up some funds in order for the threat of administration to be fully avoided.

Existing shareholders such as private equity houses Balderton Capital and TV3 owner Doughty Hanson were mentioned and could still be involved in some form of fundraising in the coming days.

Overall, the rescue package was effectively accepted by Setanta’s board on Friday evening, at the end of a week of crisis meetings – with due diligence by the consortium due to be completed either this week, or next at the latest – with part of the £35m, or so, owed to the English Premier League also paid and plans put in place to pay off a £3m debt owed to the Scottish Premier League.

Late last week, both US sports broadcaster ESPN and, the more left-field suggestion of billionaire businessman, Denis O’Brien were chalked off the list of possible white knight investors.