DPG Media continues expansion in the Netherlands with RTL acquisition

Belgian media group DPG Media has reached an agreement to acquire RTL Nederland for 1.1 billion euros, the two companies announced on Friday.

RTL Nederland will be integrated into DPG Media as a new division headed by RTL CEO Sven Sauvé, and no jobs will be lost. The deal still needs to be approved by the Dutch regulator, the ACM. An earlier plan by Dutch media company Talpa to merge with RTL was rejected by the ACM.

If the deal is approved, DPG will immediately become a third larger in terms of revenue. In 2022, the Belgian group had a turnover of 1.8 billion euros, while RTL Netherlands will had turnover of 636 million. DPG Media employs 6,000 people, RTL Nederland 800.

"It's a lot of money, but worth every euro"

"We strongly believe in the future of television and streaming, where the power of good local programmes and series is crucial. As such, RTL Nederland is a very good fit," said Erik Roddenhof, CEO of DPG Media, in a press release. "It's a lot of money, but worth every euro."

DPG Media is a Flemish media group best known in Belgium for TV channel VTM, newspapers Het Laatste Nieuws and De Morgen and Dag Allemaal magazine.

The company began its expansion into the Netherlands in 2003 with the acquisition of the Amsterdam-based newspaper Het Parool. Over the years, it acquired Dutch news brands such as AD, Nu.nl and De Volkskrant. In 2014, it expanded into Denmark with the purchase of Berlingske Media, which owns one of the world's oldest newspapers.

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