The American multinational media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has received offers to acquire the Polish television company TVN Group from three bidders. This is reported by foreign media.
In particular, the Italian TV channel MFE-MediaForEurope, controlled by the Berlusconi family, and the MS Galleon foundation of Polish billionaire Michal Solowow are among the contenders and the Polish media group Wirtualna Polska Holding SA (WP Holding). At the same time, the MFE proposal concerns TVN's assets only in the field of free-to-air broadcasting.
In December 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery has engaged JPMorgan as a consultant to evaluate the proposed sale of TVN Group worth 5 billion zloty ($1.2 billion).
The Polish government has included TVN in the list of strategic companies, the acquisition of which requires government approval, emphasizing the importance of TVN in the Polish media space.
The American media group Scripps Networks acquired a stake in TVN Group in 2015 for $615.3 million, with a total company value of $1.8 billion at that time, and then bought out the remaining shares. TVN became part of Warner Bros. after the Warner Bros. merger. with the Discovery Channel, which owned Scripps in 2022.
In December 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to separate non-profitable cable TV divisions, including CNN, from streaming and studio operations. Under the new structure of Warner Bros., the cable television divisions, including TNT, Animal Planet and CNN, will be combined into a division under the Global Linear Networks brand.
Michal Solovov is a Polish billionaire businessman with assets in various sectors of the economy worth $2.5 billion. In 2021, M.Solovov's company signed an agreement on the development of small-sized nuclear reactors in Poland jointly with the energy company Orlen SA.
TVN Group includes 24 television channels, including the 24-hour news channels TVN24 and TVN24BiS, and owns a 32% stake in the Polish pay-TV operator Canal+. TVN is one of the largest private TV channels in Poland, available through digital television and satellite operators.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. is an American multinational media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City (USA). The company was formed as a result of the separation of WarnerMedia from AT&T and the merger with Discovery Inc. in 2022. Warner Bros. Discovery includes assets of the New Line Cinema film company, HBO, CNN, Animal Planet, Cartoon Network channels; DC Comics publishing house, streaming services HBO Max, Discovery+, etc.
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