Setanta buyers’ race against time to secure funds
Setanta’s original founders – Michael O’Rourke and Leonard Ryan – are teaming up with 20% shareholder, music promoter Denis Desmond to buy the remaining 80% of the company from the recently failed Setanta Sports Holdings, which went into receivership a couple of weeks ago.
The three parties are understood to have reached an initial agreement to buy the shareholdings in Setanta Ireland previously owned by investment houses Doughty Hanson (which also owns TV3), Balderton Capital and Goldman Sachs. However, the prospect of actually finalising a deal and buying the Irish operations is not likely to be realised for a number of weeks, despite some reports suggesting a deal would be done by close of business yesterday.
US media company, Liberty Global – which has significant interests in the Irish market, as it owns UPC Ireland, which operates the Chorus/NTL cable and digital television service here – had, in recent weeks, been mentioned as a possible interested party in Setanta Ireland. It remains likely that Liberty will come on board, at some point, by buying some equity stake in the operation – which is likely to keep the Setanta branding.
This could be vital, as Setanta Ireland will be desperate to retain transmission rights for English Premiership football to Irish viewers.
Fresh bidding for those rights – for the three seasons following the upcoming one – is expected to begin in the next few weeks.
All British aspects of the Setanta group went into receivership last month resulting in 200 jobs being lost in Britain and another 19 affiliated positions going here.
The move followed the company’s failure to meet a payment deadline for transmission rights for Premier League football coverage next season and an anticipated rescue bid failing to materialise.
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