Freshfields has advised RTL Deutschland on entering into a binding agreement to acquire all shares in Sky Deutschland, thereby taking over Sky’s operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including customer relationships in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. Seller is the US media group Comcast.

The completion of the transaction is expected in 2026 and is subject to customary conditions, in particular the receipt of regulatory approvals. Further details on the transaction can be found here.

The Freshfields team advising on the transaction was led by Partners Gregor von Bonin, Stephan Waldhausen and Counsel Justus Anacker (all Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf) and also comprised:

Partners: Ulrich Sittard (Employment Law), Theresa Ehlen (Commercial/IP/IT, Media Regulatory, both Düsseldorf), Philipp Redeker (Tax, all Düsseldorf), Merit Olthoff (Foreign Subsidies Regulation, Brussels/Berlin)

Counsel: Philipp Roos (IP/IT, Media Regulatory, Düsseldorf), Lukas Pomaroli (Compliance, Vienna)

Principal Associates: Julia Mink (Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Matthias Hofer (Vienna), Aljosha Barath (Hamburg, all Commercial/IP/IT), Valentin Lang (Frankfurt), Manuel Jäger (Düsseldorf, both Employment Law)

Associates: Eva Wickerath, Frederic Giesen (both Corporate/M&A, Düsseldorf), Benjamin Blum (Frankfurt), Yvonne Wolski (Düsseldorf), Yulianna Tkach (Munich), Aleksandar Atanasov (Hamburg, all Commercial/IP/IT), Elena Münster (Tax), Sarah Maria Fröhlingsdorf (Employment Law, both Düsseldorf)

Inhouse: Ralph Sammeck (General Counsel RTL Deutschland GmbH)