Virgin Media’s acquisition of UTV Ireland has been granted regulatory approval four months after the deal was first announced.
Virgin Media said in July it had agreed a deal to acquire UTV Ireland from ITV for €10m.
The agreement includes a comprehensive 10-year output deal for Ireland for ITV produced programming, of which soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale are a key element.
Commenting upon approval of the deal, Virgin Media CEO Tony Hanway said: “We’re delighted to have received regulatory approval to acquire UTV Ireland. This follows our acquisition of TV3 last year and we look forward to playing an even bigger role in the Irish broadcasting sector.”
The purchase price is expected to be funded through existing liquidity.
The transaction follows the acquisition of rival broadcaster TV3 last December.
TV3 was bought by Virgin Media's parent group, Liberty Global, in July 2015 in a deal worth up to €87m.
TV3 MD Pat Kiely said the purchase of UTV Ireland by Virgin “will support TV3 to further compete against significant local and international competition”.
Last November UTV Media sold its television assets, including UTV Ireland, to ITV for €135m.
UTV Media had initially predicted UTV Ireland would break even by the end of its first year, but six months into operation it forecast the operation would instead record a €15.6m loss.
At the time, the group blamed weaker-than-expected daytime and weekend audience figures for that poor performance.
UTV Ireland - which launched in January 2015 - is currently available on the Virgin Media, eir Vision, Vodafone, Sky and Saorview platforms
