Setanta secures £213m funding

by Robin Parker, Media Week 11-Dec-06, 13:47

Irish sports broadcaster Setanta has secured £213m to fund its expansion plans.

The company has agreed a deal with a consortium comprising private equity firm Doughty Hanson & Co, Goldman Sachs International, Davy Stockbrokers and Adams Street Partners to inject capital to cover content, operating and marketing costs.

Doughty Hanson will be the largest shareholder alongside venture capital firm Benchmark Capital Europe.

Setanta retains ownership, with the balance of the equity held by the founders, management and other financial investors.
The announcement follows the signing of a deal for Setanta to provide sports content to BT's new broadband download TV service, BT Vision.
Next month, Setanta will launch Setanta Golf, which will feature all PGA Tour events and programming including The Players Championship.
It has also bought the rights to show Australian rugby league, 80 matches in the Nationwide Conference football season and 46 English Premier League matches.