Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris and media executive Tarak Ben Ammar have finalized the sale of their Italian digital terrestrial television multiplex to Syes for approximately €2.5 million.
The deal, approved by Italy’s communications regulator AgCom, marks a decisive exit from a venture that has been crippled by cumulative financial losses totaling nearly €30 million over the past two fiscal years.
The transaction involved spinning off the 3DFree multiplex—which historically covered 95.2% of the Italian population—into a separate entity called “Dfree” before its acquisition by the telecommunications engineering firm.
The divestment follows a period of acute financial distress for Prima TV, which saw its revenues plummet from €16.6 million in 2023 to €13.1 million in 2024. A critical turning point occurred when Sky Italia terminated its transmission agreement with the platform, stripping the business of a vital source of recurring commercial revenue.
Faced with a shrinking advertising market and a rapid consumer shift toward digital streaming platforms, the terrestrial broadcast model became increasingly unsustainable, with the company’s recent operations heavily dependent on government reimbursements rather than commercial viability.
This exit aligns with Sawiris’ broader strategic pivot away from legacy media assets, following his previous departures from Egypt’s ONTV and the pan-European news network Euronews. By liquidating these traditional media holdings, Sawiris is reallocating capital toward high-growth sectors such as gold mining, real estate, and large-scale infrastructure projects across the UAE and Africa.
While Tarak Ben Ammar remains a dominant force in the European film and distribution industry, the sale of 3DFree signals the end of an era for the Egyptian tycoon’s involvement in the Italian telecommunications infrastructure.
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