Thomas Middelhoff, chief executive of Bertelsmann, has said that he wants to expand the group's television businesses, as well as its music interests.
Bertelsmann has been rumoured in the past to be interested in buying UK television assets. It already owns a majority stake in RTL, Europe's largest broadcaster. Because it is not listed, it can only pay for acquisitions in cash and not in share swaps.
However, part of the money raised by the issue could be used by Bertelsmann to buy shares in Zomba, the record label of stars such as Britney Spears. Zomba's founder, Clive Calder, has an option to force Bertelsmann to pay €3bn for his shares this year, but it is not known if he will force the deal or not.
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