Sony Pictures Television (SPT) Networks has acquired 50% of a major part of Dori Media Group Ltd.'s (AIM:DMG) business at a price of tens of millions of shekels, according to market estimates. The two companies will jointly establish a new subsidiary, Dori TLV, through which they will jointly own in equal shares the two Viva channels in Israel, the Viva Walla online free video on demand (FVOD) service, the Baby TV channel in Indonesia, and Dori Media Ot, which provides dubbing and subtitling services.
Israeli media company Dori Media, owned by Tamar Mozes Borovitz and President and CEO Nadav Palti, has already been in partnership with Sony Pictures for nearly 18 months, including ownership of another subsidiary and another television station in Indonesia. As a result of the parties' mutual satisfaction with the results, it was decided to extend their cooperation in what is perceived as a vote of confidence in the Israel television content and production market.
Palti told "Globes" today, "This can be regarded as an exit, but the objective is growth and development, not an exit. Our 50% stake with Sony is bigger than our 100% without it. Dori Media Ot will immediately receive work from Sony around the world that can help the company grow tenfold. Sony is a global giant with a very large distribution system, and Dori Media can create high-quality television at low cost. The goal is to establish more channels around the world. In order to create a channel like Viva at our prices, you need a lot of know-how and connections, and Sony was very impressed by this." Palti added that there were no plans to discontinue Dori Media's activity, which also includes distribution networks in Israel (through the Dori Media Darset company, managed by Yoni Paran), and channels (through its Dori Media Spike subsidiary).
"We're on a growth trend," Palti says. SPT, a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Co., is one of the leading content providers in the television industry. The company produces and distributes content, and owns one of the world's largest libraries of movies, television programs, and formats. The company fully or partially owns 18 production companies, and has offices in 31 countries. SPT's global TV networks portfolio contains 126 channels viewable in 168 countries, and reaches an audience of more than 980 million households around the world.
Dori Media has branches in Israel, Switzerland, Argentina, and the US. The group produces and distributes television and new media content, and holds about 6,000 television hours, over 5,000 three-minute clips, 120 nine-minute webisodes, and 566 1-5 minute cellular episodes of daily telenovelas and series.
SPT Worldwide Networks president Andy Kaplan said, "This acquisition is based on our strategy of taking advantage of opportunities to acquire channels around the world, including entry into new markets. We had the pleasure of working with Dori Media's team, and we're glad to extend the relationship between us."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 21, 2014
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