By Jonathan Easton

European broadcaster RTL Group has announced the €250 million(US$298.4million) sale of RTL Belgium to local media companies DPG Media and Groupe Rossel.

RTL Group assumed full ownership of RTL Belgium in December 2020, having spent 33 years as its majority shareholder.

The agreement, set to close in Q4, will see DPG and Groupe Rossel takeover RTL Belgium’s three French-language FTA channels: RTL-TVI, Club RTL and Plug RTL. In addition, the business unit includes RTL Belgium’s radio stations, streaming service RTL Play and news site WRTInfo.be.

The sale marks part of RTL Group’s European-wide consolidation efforts, which include the recently announced merger of its French network M6 with TF1. The company has said that it has an ongoing strategy to create “local-language champions” across the continent.

COO and Deputy CEO of RTL Group, Elmar Heggen said: “DPG Media and Groupe Rossel are strong cross-media companies that are well equipped to accelerate RTL Belgium’s digital transformation. The sale is in line with our strategy and the best strategic option for RTL Belgium, its dedicated employees and our shareholders.

“We would like to thank the management and the team of RTL Belgium for their performance, passion and commitment. Today, RTL Belgium stands for audience proximity, independent information, pluralism of opinion and high-quality entertainment. We are looking forward to the continued cooperation with RTL Belgium, for example with our technical service provider BCE in Luxembourg and the streaming technology company Bedrock.”