A 29 percent stake in Ukraine's PrJSC Inter TV Channel, which belonged to Russia's OAO Channel One, was re-registered to a new owner, Cyprus-based Vacea Ventures Limited.
The transaction was effected on Feb. 3, 2015, Inter reported in the Securities and Stock Market Commission’s information disclosure system on Feb. 4.
Dmytro Firtash’s Group DF earlier reported that GDF Media Limited and Inter Media Group Limited had built up a 100 percent stake in Inter, having bought 29 percent from Russia’s Channel One and 10 percent from Ukraine’s Pegas Television LLC.
“Thus, 100 percent of shares of Inter Channel are fully controlled and managed by the companies owned by Dmytro Firtash (majority stake) and Serhiy Liovochkin (minority stake),” Group DF reported on its official website.
Channel One’s 29 percent stake was purchased for $100 million, which was its market price, the report said.
Group DF Managing Director Borys Krasniansky said later that the deal to acquire the 29 percent stake from Channel One had been planned for some time ago, though it hadn’t been a top priority for the group.
“We had to accelerate the deal and buy the stake due to political pressure on the media group by certain representatives of power,” Krasniansky said.
Group DF’s press service said that GDF Media Limited secured a preliminary permit from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine way back in February 2013 to gain control of the group incorporating the Inter TV Channel, therefore no additional permission for the deal with Channel One was required.
Inter Mediа Group Ltd. operates Inter, Inter+, NTN, K1, K2, Enter, Enter-Film, Mega, Zoom TV channels, and other companies in the production and marketing sector.
