BROADCASTING: BERTELSMANN JOINS GIANTS TABLE BY ACQUIRING RTL GROUP.

Bertelsmann is to acquire the 30% stake in the RTL Group held by the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), increasing its overall interest to 67%. GBL, controlled by the Belgian entrepreneurs Albert Frere and Paul Desmarais, will obtain in exchange a 25.1% stake in Bertelsmann, which it will be free to sell on the stock exchange within three to four years, according to the German group. The transaction has still to be endorsed by the GBL and Bertelsmann Boards and by competition authorities. Albert Frere has insisted the deal will not threaten the editorial independence of the French radio RTL. Justifying the deal, Albert Frere suggested that it was good for the RTL Group and therefore for all shareholders, large and small. He argues that in a sector currently going through a period of consolidation, front-line global enterprises in the leading pack stand a better chance of surviving.Bertelsmann has meanwhile been negotiating for several weeks a possible merger of its music business (BMG) with the British EMI group, and is seeking to develop its Internet activities on all fronts. The acquisition of control of the RTL Group completes the progressive increase of Bertelsmann's interests in television. The group recently secured a majority stake in RTL German by acquiring the stakes held by the publishing groups Burda and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). It also acquired control of the commercial television channel VOX through its...