3i Group Plc and Providence Equity Partners Inc. agreed to buy Crown Media Holdings Inc.’s international Hallmark Channel cable network for $242 million.
3i and Providence, both leveraged buyout firms, will get
Crown’s international operations and the right to distribute programming in 152 countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America,
Crown said in a statement today.
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Hallmark’s cable channels have a library of more than 580 titles including “Little House on the Prairie” and the
“Gilligan’s Island” TV series, making it attractive to buyout firms seeking a regular revenue stream. The channels boosted their subscriber numbers 12 percent in the quarter ended Sept. 30, for a total of 60.7 million customers overseas and 63.4 million in the U.S.
The U.S. channel was the 16th-most watched for the year as of Feb. 13, according to Nielsen Media Research data. The company’s shows including the “Alice in Wonderland” film, the “Bonanza” TV series, and the “Cleopatra” mini-series.
Crown has been pursuing the sale of the international assets since April 2004 as the company focuses on the U.S. channel.
Crown has reported 19 consecutive quarters of losses.
David Elstein is part of the investment group. Elstein has
worked as chief executive officer of U.K.’s Channel Five and
headed programming at British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC.
Bloomberg News
