Freenet has agreed a deal to buy transmission company Media Broadcast Group in a deal worth £225 million.
The purchase is expected to be finalised by April 2016, and will see the German mobile communications company expand into internet-based television activities.
Media Broadcast Group is the sole commercial provider of DVB-T2 and DAB+, and according to Freenet, the group’s satellite services are not included in the transaction.
The takeover, alongside the recent purchase of a 25 per cent stake in Exaring, a Munich-based provider of a closed IP platform for entertainment services, represents a big step towards the company’s strategic development to become the leading digital lifestyle provider in Germany.
As a result, Freenet has claimed that it will now be the only supplier of full HD and 4K content on both stationary and mobile devices in the country.
DVB-T is currently used in more than seven million German households, with the rollout of DVB-T2 currently ongoing, providing additional channels, HD quality and on-demand services.
DVB-T2 will also introduce further pay-TV services to the HD platform.
With the 25 per cent stake in Exaring, Freenet also plans to target the online and mobile entertainment market. The acquisition gives it marketing rights to Exaring’s IP platform for entertainment services, which will enable support of 8K video quality.
