RTL Group — BrandWiki

RTL Group

Overview

RTL Group S.A.

former names	Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion (1931–1954) Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (1954–1997) CLT-UFA (1997–2000)
type	Public
traded as	fwb: RRTL MDAX component (RRTL) LuxX Index component (RTLL)
predecessor	Société Luxembourgeoise d'Études Radiophoniques (1929–1931)
founded	May 30, 1931
hq location city	Kirchberg, Luxembourg Cologne, Germany
area served	Europe Worldwide (via Fremantle)
key people	Martin Taylor (chairman) Thomas Rabe (CEO)
industry	Mass media
products	Television Radio Streaming Content production Digital services
owner	Other shareholders (23.72%)
parent	Bertelsmann Capital Holding (76.28%)
divisions	RTL Deutschland Groupe M6 (48.26%) Fremantle RTL Magyarország
footnotes	Annual Report 2022

RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate owned by the Mohn Family, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany.[1] The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France and other European countries. It also offers national streaming platforms, content productions and a range of digital services. Important segments of RTL Group are RTL Deutschland, Groupe M6 and Fremantle.[2]

The company in its present form was established by Bertelsmann, Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL), and Pearson plc in 2000.[3] As of 2024 Bertelsmann, a conglomerate based in the German city of Gütersloh owns 76% of the shares in the company,[4]

History

Historical background

The roots of RTL Group date back to the 1920s.[7] The company itself was established in 1931 as the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion (known as CLR for short). It was one of the world's first private broadcasting companies. After the Second World War, the company ventured into the world of television broadcasting. It was renamed Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT) to reflect this new service in 1954. Under the name RTL (for Radio Télévision Luxembourg), it went on to provide its private broadcasting services in several European countries.[8] When the European media markets were liberalised in the 1980s, television became increasingly important and started to overtake radio.[7]

In the 1980s, Belgian and French media companies made up the majority of the shareholders of CLR and CLT.[9] The following decades witnessed repeated conflicts for domination within the company and among its subsidiaries.[10][11] In the 1990s, Bertelsmann ultimately came out on top after having gradually increased its stake in the German television channel RTL.[12] Following a legal dispute with RTL/CLT,[13][10] Bertelsmann announced plans to merge the television businesses of UFA to form the joint venture CLT-UFA in April 1996.[14] A merger agreement was signed on 8 July 1996.[15] It was approved by the CLT board of directors on 5 December,[16] and the formation of CLT-UFA was completed on 14 January 1997.[17] As a result, German television channels such as RTL Television and VOX and international broadcasting services, including M6 in France, were all brought together under one roof.[18]

Growth and stock market launch

CLT-UFA not only grew organically but also increased in size due to a number of acquisitions.[19] In the year 2000, Bertelsmann and Pearson announced plans to merge their television, radio, and production activities.[20] The two companies joined forces to create RTL Group, Europe's leading network of television channels and radio stations with a global content business,[21] which was rebranded FremantleMedia in 2001 (now called Fremantle).[22] This merger was designed to provide a strong European response to U.S. media dominance.[23]

RTL Group was first listed on the London Stock Exchange [24]

Acquisition by Bertelsmann

Although Bertelsmann initially only held a minority share in RTL Group, the German conglomerate managed by Thomas Middelhoff set its sights on playing a leading role within the group.[30] After exchanging shares with the Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) in 2001, Bertelsmann achieved its goal of becoming the majority shareholder of RTL Group and thus secured a leading position in the European television market.[31][32]

Over the years, Bertelsmann increased its stake in RTL Group to more than 90%.[33] Bertelsmann's initial aim was to acquire full ownership of RTL Group to reduce administrative costs, but this plan failed in 2007 due to uncertainties in Luxembourg law.[34][35]

Recent developments

RTL Group was already responsible for a large part of the revenue and profit of Bertelsmann in 2001.[41] In the new structure of Bertelsmann, introduced in 2016, the company maintained its position as an important division.[42] Since April 2019, Thomas Rabe, chairman and chief executive officer of Bertelsmann, has also simultaneously been at the helm of RTL Group.[43] Under his management, the company is pursuing the objective of strengthening its core businesses, establishing local streaming services and further developing advertising technologies.[44] Fostering its alliances and partnerships with other companies in the European media industry also plays an important role in the current strategy of RTL Group.[45][46]

Corporate affairs

RTL Group S.A. is the parent company of the entire corporate group. Its legal form is a société anonyme, a public limited company under Luxembourg law. It was entered into the Luxembourg Trade Register on 29 March 1973. The company's main corporate objective is to develop audio-visual media and to lead and manage other companies active in the same field.[47]

The key indicators of the RTL Group are (as at the financial year ending 31 December):[48] In the 2022, the revenue mainly came from advertising (40.5% television, 2.7% radio), content production (22.6%), digital activities (17.1%) and platform businesses (6.1%).[2]

Listing

RTL Group S.A. currently has a share capital of €191,845,074. It is divided into 154,742,806 shares without nominal value, which are traded on the Luxembourg[49] and Frankfurt[50] Stock Exchanges. RTL Group S.A. shares are included in the German MDAX,[51] a stock index for midcap companies. They are also included in the SXMP, a sector index for the European media industry.[52]

Bertelsmann holds more than 75% of the shares in RTL Group S.A. The second-largest shareholder is Silchester International Investors, a British investment company based in London, which has a stake of around 5%. This shareholding forms part of the group's free float, which has a stable value of between 20 and 25%.[53]

Management

The highest authority of RTL Group S.A. is its board of directors,[54] in which the power to manage and control the group's business is vested. The Board of Directors has 13 members; there are currently eleven men and two women serving on the Board. Martin Taylor is the chairman of the board of directors; the other members are Carsten Coesfeld, Thomas Götz, Elmar Heggen, Immanuel Hermreck, Bernd Hirsch, Bernd Kundrun, Guillaume de Posch, Thomas Rabe, Jean-Louis Schiltz, Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, James Singh, Alexander von Torklus and Lauren Zalaznick.

The operational business of RTL Group is headed by Thomas Rabe (Chief Executive Officer, CEO), Elmar Heggen (Chief Operating Officer, COO and Deputy CEO) and Björn Bauer (Chief Financial Officer, CFO).[55] Together they form the executive committee of RTL Group S.A.,[56] which is supported by the group management committee and operations management committee. The management boards of RTL Group are based in Luxembourg and Cologne, Germany.[57]

Corporate headquarters

The headquarters of RTL Group, according to trade law, is located in the so-called "RTL City", which is located at Boulevard Pierre Frieden in the Kirchberg quarter in Luxembourg City.[58] Bertelsmann initially planned to sell the complex and lease it back in 2017[59] but ultimately decided to delay the transaction for an indefinite period.[60] Besides the Luxembourg headquarters, there is another corporate office located in Deutz, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia.[57]