Viacom Acquires Telefe In Argentina From Telefónica For $345 Mln

(RTTNews) - Viacom Inc. (VIAB, VIA) and Telefónica S.A. announced the acquisition of Televisión Federal S.A. or Telefe, one of the main free-to-air channels in Argentina, by Viacom International Media Networks or VIMN. The transaction has been concluded for a total amount of US$345 million dollars in cash.

Telefe will fall under the direction of Pierluigi Gazzolo, President of VIMN Americas. The acquisition builds on Viacom's long and successful track record of investment in Argentina, beginning with the launch of MTV in 1993.

Under the terms of the agreement, Viacom will acquire all of Telefe's brands and assets, including: Telefe in Buenos Aires Capital and Gran Buenos Aires; Eight wholly-owned channels in the interior of the country, including Canal Cinco in Rosario, Canal Siete in Neuquén, Teleocho in Córdoba, Canal Ocho in Mar del Plata; Telefe Internacional;Twelve production studios; A library of over 33,000 hours of content currently distributed in more than 100 countries in 35 languages.

The acquisition was financed from Viacom's existing cash balances. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Viacom's fiscal year 2017 earnings. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.