BERLIN/FRANKFURT, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Initial offers for RTL's 48% stake in French TV channel M6 are expected by Friday after a failed tie-up with France's TF1 broadcaster, a person familiar with the matter said.
RTL has been "inundated" with expressions of interest in the M6 stake since TF1 and M6 called off their planned merger last week, its boss Thomas Rabe told the Financial Times on Thursday.
Other potential buyers include French media group Vivendi (VIV.PA) and Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, alongside Italian media conglomerate MediaForEurope (MFE), Reuters reported on Monday.
If RTL wants to sell M6, a deal must be completed by spring 2023, because M6's broadcasting license comes up for renewal in May.
In March 2021, when Bertelsmann confirmed talks to sell its stake, French media reported the RTL's stake was worth 1.5 billion euros ($1.48 billion), valuing all of M6 at around 3 billion euros.