Polish TV giant up for sale

ITI Group, which has a 56 percent stake in the network, declared yesterday that it had employed bankers to find a buyer for its share in one of Poland’s most popular television stations.

Speculation is rife in both Polish and foreign media outlets, with claims that five buyers have already been approached. The cited companies are French media group Vivendi, Time Warner, Fox, Discovery Communications and the German ProSieben.

TVN was launched in October 1997 and it swiftly carved itself a place as one of the key players on the Polish scene. The network was the brainchild of two Polish businessmen, Mariusz Walter and the late Jan Wejchert, who had co-founded the ITI Group the previous decade.

It has been postulated that following the death of Jan Wejchert last year, not all of his heirs were interested in maintaining a hands-on influence on the network. Likewise, pundits have pointed towards TVN’s problems with debts.

It has been estimated that the ITI Group could secure 3.1 billion zloty (780 million euro) for its stake in the network.

The sale comes as a reshuffle on the media scene in Poland is expected after the recent purchase of mobile operator Polkomtel, which runs the Plus network, by Polsat TV owner Zygmunt Solorz-Zak. (nh/jb)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza/Reuters/tvn24