Pro Sieben Sat 1 takes over other parts of its ailing daughter Jochen Schweizer and could take over the entire business in the medium term. An agreement was reached with the joint US investor General Atlantic to take over his share in the voucher subsidiary for one euro, said the head of the television company, Bert Habets. As a result, Pro Sieben Sat 1 now directly holds 89.9 percent of Jochen Schweizer Mydays. By March 31, 2025, the shares of 10.1 percent of the co-shareholder Jochen Schweizer could be personally acquired on the basis of an agreement. There is currently no decision on this.
Pro Sieben Sat 1 had also announced that it would massively reduce the dividend. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board will only propose around eleven million euros to the 2023 Annual General Meeting, after 181 million in the previous year. A dividend of EUR 0.05 per share is to be paid out and less money is to go to the shareholders in the future, but more to investments. That didn’t go down well with investors. The stock fell by almost 20 percent at times and was heading for its biggest daily loss in 15 years. “Pro Sieben killed its share as a dividend stock,” said a trader. There are no more reasons to keep the papers.
In addition, Pro Sieben Sat 1 is parting ways with CFO Ralf Gierig with immediate effect and by mutual agreement. The 57-year-old has been with the company for over 20 years and has been on the board since early 2022. His successor, effective May 1, is Martin Mildner, 53, who was CFO at United Internet. The meager advertising business squeezed profit and revenue in 2022. Sales fell by 7.4 percent to 4.16 billion euros and operating profit fell by almost 20 percent to 678 million euros. For this year, the group is counting on stagnating sales of 4.1 billion euros. Operating profit is likely to fall.
Even the public prosecutor’s office has initiated a process
Regulatory questions about the Jochen Schweizer Mydays business involving vouchers for experiences such as parachute jumps or restaurant visits have recently caused problems. That’s why Pro Sieben Sat 1 had to postpone its balance sheet submission and was almost temporarily dropped from the MDax. The question arose to what extent parts of the business activities of Jochen Schweizer and Mydays fall under the so-called Payment Services Supervision Act (ZAG). The group said the product range had been adjusted in March and could continue to be operated without permission from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin). Both companies are currently coordinating details with BaFin in order to process the voucher products that were issued before the change and required BaFin approval under the ZAG. “At the same time, an independent internal investigation is currently being carried out at Pro Sieben Sat 1 by an external law firm with the aim of clarifying any misconduct,” said the television group. “In addition, the Munich I public prosecutor’s office initiated an observation process,” said Habets.
The authority responded to the announcement by Pro Sieben Sat 1 that it would postpone the balance sheet submission because of the open questions about Jochen Schweizer. There was extensive cooperation with the responsible authorities. “The possible financial burdens for the group in connection with the official investigations cannot yet be estimated, but could be significant,” warned Habets. He could not name a possible sum. However, he does not assume that this will affect the annual forecast for 2023. At the end of March, the group surprisingly announced job cuts. Habets said it was not yet possible to give a specific number. There should be clarity here in the first half of the year.