30 October, 2009
Thomson struggling to sell Grass Valley -report
PARIS, Oct 30 (Reuters) - French media technology group Thomson (TMS.PA) is struggling to agree terms for the sale of its TV and film equipment maker Grass Valley to U.S. investment fund Platinum, French daily La Tribune reported on Friday.
The French paper said the fund and the group were at odds on the level of financing required to fund the restructuring of Grass Valley. Thomson declined to comment.
To cut debt, Thomson has pledged to sell businesses that contributed around 1 billion euros to 2008 sales, including advertising unit PRN and cinema advertising unit Screenvision on top of Grass Valley.
La Tribune said other companies might be looking at the unit but no serious talks had been embarked on.
Grass Valley has been suffering from crisis-induced delays to investments in the media sector.
Last week, Thomson said the sale process of Grass Valley continued and it was "premature at this stage to anticipate the outcome of the negotiations."
Thomson shares have gained 8 percent so far this year after losing more than 90 percent in 2008.
(editing by John Stonestreet)
Source: http://www.reuters.com
Thomson struggling to sell Grass Valley -report Added: (30.10.2009)
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