Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) ( MTG' or the Group'), the international entertainment group, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 75% of Trace Partners SAS ( Trace'), the France based youth media brand and global pay-TV channel operator that has distribution agreements with third party network operators in 160 countries worldwide, including all 55 countries in Africa. The stake is being acquired from Citizen Capital, Entrepreneur Venture, NextStage, and company management, for a cash consideration that values 100% of the company at an enterprise value of EUR 40.0 million. Trace management will retain the remaining 25% of the company. Olivier Laouchez, Trace Co-founder, will continue as Chairman and CEO of Trace, and the other members of the senior management team will also continue in their roles.
Trace operates three music TV channels - Trace Urban', Trace Tropical' and Trace Africa' and the Trace Sports Stars' sports celebrity lifestyle TV channel.
Trace Urban' is available in 130 countries worldwide, and is the leading music channel in 60 markets. The channel is focused on urban music and culture from a wide range of genres including R&B and hip hop, and is particularly popular across Africa, in France and the Caribbean. Trace Africa' and Trace Tropical' are focused on African urban and World music, and Latin American and Caribbean music genres, respectively. Trace Sports Stars' is available in 108 countries worldwide and features programming about the lives of local and international sports stars. The four Trace channels are localised in 16 different feeds and are available in up to 11 languages.
Trace also runs a number of complementary branded entertainment businesses, including the annual Trace Music Awards'; the Trace Stars' mobile song competition, which is the first of its kind and was recently launched in Africa; and Trace FM', which is the leading FM radio music station in the French Caribbean. Trace's recently launched mobile and digital assets are also developing fast with www.trace.tv' (the online entertainment portal), My Trace' (the smart personalised video music service) and Trace Mobile' (the youth oriented mobile offering that has been developed in partnership with a number of leading mobile network operators).
Trace has generated 23% compound annual net sales growth over the five years to the end of 2013 and reported preliminary net sales of EUR 19.3 million for the full year 2013. Trace generates almost half of its revenues in Africa and other Emerging Markets. The company had 37 million paying subscribers as at the end of December 2013, up from 27 million at the end of 2012, and also generates a growing proportion of its sales from advertising, events, content and brand licensing.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the French media authorities and MTG will consolidate Trace's results in the Group's accounts with effect from the closing of the transaction.
Joseph Hundah, Executive Vice President of MTG's African operations, commented: Trace is a cool and contemporary entertainment brand, and one of the leading youth brands in Africa. Trace has proven success with different formats around the world. It fits perfectly with what we are doing both in Africa and, more broadly, with both our linear and digital operations, as well as our content production houses. This deal is another key milestone in our international expansion and provides us with footholds from which we can expand even more in Europe, South America, Asia and francophone countries around the world.
We look forward to welcoming Trace's skilled and experienced management team to MTG. We will work together to further develop our successful brands and formats, and to continue to expand our businesses.
Olivier Laouchez, Trace Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, commented: We are just at the beginning of the mobile and digital revolutions. In the coming 5 years, the media industry will dramatically change. MTG has the right set-up and vision to make Trace a leading and cool entertainment multimedia brand for the youth generation, worldwide. We are extremely confident that the synergies, resources and opportunities provided by MTG and its great team will make us achieve this goal faster and better, while preserving Trace's unique identity and entrepreneurial dynamics.
J rgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, commented: Trace's development has followed a similar path and strategy to our own at MTG the creation and nurturing of innovative local products that customers love and want more of, investment in the content offerings, the broadening of their availability, and then international expansion with equally strong local versions in high growth new markets. Trace's channels and platforms share the powerful affinity with audiences that we always look for. This acquisition is yet another example of our objective to shape the future of entertainment by expanding our content offering, our digital availability and our geographical footprint.
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
17/07/2025
Early Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate voted to cut federal funding for PBS and NPR in a bill that also included cuts for foreign aid. In a 51-48 vote, the act...
17/07/2025
GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions across IBC2025 (12 15 September, RAI Amsterdam) feature a remarkable 34 companies, each providing unique, innovativ...
17/07/2025
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers today introduced its Content Provenance and Authenticity (CPA) in Media Study Group (S...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Despite widespread concerns about a soft advertising market, NBCUniversal said it closed its 2025-26 upfront negotiation cycle with a record ad sales v...
17/07/2025
NEW YORK Television advertising remains an effective means to market and influence younger baby boomer and Generation X consumers approaching retirement age, ac...
17/07/2025
ALLENTOWN, Pa. & JERSEY CITY, N.J. Service Electric Cable TV and OpenVault have announced that the operator is deploying the OpenVault Proactive Network Manage...
17/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following up on his first major policy speech just two ago, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr is promising to buck the usual summ...
17/07/2025
Luxembourg, 14 July 2025 - SES received the final regulatory approvals for the SES-Intelsat transaction, including the US Federal Communications Commission.
O...
17/07/2025
Berklee Alumni Nominated for 2025 Emmy Awards Twenty-three Berklee alumni received nominations across categories in sound mixing, sound editing, and compositi...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
16/07/2025
Spotify's podcast editorial team is always on the hunt for shows and episodes that spark conversation, push boundaries, and keep us coming back for more. As...
16/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/07/2025
Join us at IBC this September and take control of your content. Discover how we're bringing a new level of purpose and precision to the application of AI in...
16/07/2025
Warsaw - Poland, June 24, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest May All Screens Video Landscape...
16/07/2025
Bluey Tops Nielsen's Overall Streaming List with More Than 25 Billion Minutes Streamed from January through June 2025
Big June Vaults Squid Game into Top O...
16/07/2025
TV SIM, the SBT affiliate serving Esp rito Santo state in Brazil, has launched a transmitter upgrade initiative with the installation of a Rohde & Schwarz R&S T...
16/07/2025
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, is turning its vision to the future of automation with its demonstrations ...
16/07/2025
Ikegami announces a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the introduction of the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera: The new version has the same f...
16/07/2025
Today, Amazon Web Services added TwelveLabs as a new model provider to Amazon Bedrock, delivering what could be the most significant breakthrough in enterprise ...
16/07/2025
NEW YORK Streaming platforms continued to dominate TV viewing patterns in June, with data from Nielsen's 50th monthly report of The Gauge showing that strea...
16/07/2025
MAHWAH, NJ Ikegami has introduced the the UHK-X700RF wireless portable camera, a new addition to its UNICAM-XE product range with the same feature set, operatio...
16/07/2025
LONDON IBC2025 organizers said global attendees will have access to a new feature that will integrate Amsterdam's GVB public transport pass into the officia...
16/07/2025
July 16th, 2025
Tribeca Films to Release the Acclaimed LARPing Doc WE CAN BE HEROES by Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons, Alongside a Slate of Festival-Favori...
16/07/2025
Deltatre Acquires Endeavor Streaming in Major Streaming Industry Move The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 By Brandon Costa, Direc...
16/07/2025
SVG Regional Sports Production Summit 2025: All Sessions Now Available to Watch ...
16/07/2025
Wednesday 16 July 2025
Sky and ITV today announced an extension of their long-standing partnership, which will see ITV's content and services remain seamle...
16/07/2025
Sky Sports lifts the lid on Lions life with hilarious behind-the-scenes mockumentaryWednesday 16 July 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cooki...
16/07/2025
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA Apple TV+ today earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 hit Apple Original titles for this year's 77th Emmy Awa...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
Modern Times Group MTG AB (publ.) ( MTG' or the Group'), the international entertainment group, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire 75% of Trace Partners SAS ( Trace'), the France based youth media brand and global pay-TV channel operator that has distribution agreements with third party network operators in 160 countries worldwide, including all 55 countries in Africa. The stake is being acquired from Citizen Capital, Entrepreneur Venture, NextStage, and company management, for a cash consideration that values 100% of the company at an enterprise value of EUR 40.0 million. Trace management will retain the remaining 25% of the company. Olivier Laouchez, Trace Co-founder, will continue as Chairman and CEO of Trace, and the other members of the senior management team will also continue in their roles. 
