€89 million Endemol write-down hits Telecinco

Endemol shareholder Telecinco has booked an €89 million write-down relating to the producer and distributor.

The Mediaset-backed Spanish broadcaster recorded a 48.3% decrease in profits of €32.2 million for the first nine months of the year. When the figure is adjusted and write-down figure stripped out, Telecinco’s net profit for the period was €121.2 million, a 54.4% year on year increase.

The Endemol acquisition has helped the broadcaster increase the proportion of in-house-produced content. Telecinco said the write-down was not a reflection of Endemol’s performance, but related to an impairment test, the amortisation of intangible assets and application of international accounting standards.

“All of this constitutes the application of an accounting convention that does not affect the operating activity or the cash flow of the Endemol Group, the operational results of which are satisfactory,” the broadcaster noted.

Mediaset previously recorded a €40 million write down relating to Endemol in its full-year 2009 results.

Endemol was bought by Mediaset, John de Mol’s Cyrte and investment bank Goldman Sachs in 2007. It is carrying about €2.3 billion of debt and according to today’s edition of the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph the company is close to bringing in restructuring specialists Houlihan Lokey to help it refinance the debt.