After receiving European Commission approval in early April, the sale of Italian pay-TV satellite operator Telepiu has been completed.

As a result, Vivendi Universal [NYSE: V] has raised some much needed cash by selling Telepiu to News Corp [NYSE: NWS] and Telecom Italia [TIT: MI] for 871 million euros ($978.7 million), which comprises 414 million euros ($465.2 million) in debt assumption and 457 million euros ($513.5 million) in cash. The deal will help Vivendi get to grips with its debt and help reduce losses from its pay-TV division.

The deal is a good one for News Corp, which will take an 80.1 per cent stake in the combined Telepiu/Stream platform to be renamed Sky Italia. Telecom Italia will hold a 19.9 per cent share in the new platform.

The main issue for News Corp will be to tackle the piracy issues in Italy, where there are well over a million users who use illegal smart cards to access programming. But, with an impressive track record in other markets, few would bet against News Corp turning this market around very quickly.

–Mark Holmes