Belfast Businessman To Make Millions From "Millionaire"

CCC Auctions Hit Quiz Show To The Dutch

Irish entrepreneur Paul Smith has agreed to sell the rights to television quiz show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? to a leading Dutch television production firm, 2wayTraffic.

The deal is expected to be closed in the next four weeks and will net the Belfast-born businessman more than €50 million, according to industry analysts. Smith owns 36 per cent of Complete Communications Corporation (CCC), the British production company behind the award-winning show.

Earlier this year, the company decided to auction off the rights to the show and it has now entered exclusive negotiations with 2wayTraffic. In addition, Smith has also agreed to sell Celador International, a subsidiary of CCC to 2wayTraffic. The combined price for the show and the company is €150 million.

The deal is at an advanced stage and is expected to be completed by the end of next month.

The Belfast man set up the company in 1981 and is the firm's chairman. He has diversified his activities in recent years and was recently an unsuccessful bidder for the new Belfast radio station, Lagan FM. The sale of the gameshow has not been without controversy.

Earlier this month, Adrian Woolfe, the former managing director of Celador International, launched a €12.5 million court action against the company and against Smith personally.

Woolfe, one of the driving forces behind the success of the show, is claiming compensation as he was not allowed to proceed with his proposed management buyout of the subsidiary.

The company has stated that the case will not affect the sale to 2wayTraffic. 2wayTraffic is based in Hilversum in the Netherlands but is listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London.

The company is currently finalizing due diligence on the acquisition, according to a statement released to investors in recent days. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? was launched in September 1998 on ITV and was licensed to more than 100 other countries, including Ireland.

At its peak, 19 million people tuned in to watch Chris Tarrant on ITV. The show is in its 19th season in Britain and regularly attracts audiences of more than seven million.