Gazprom Media Holding to buy ProfMedia from Interros
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Vladimir Potanin's Interros holding is selling ProfMedia to Gazprom Media Holding.
Interros said in a press release that agreement on this was reached on November 25.
Regulatory approvals for the deal should be obtained early next year.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
"This is a strategically correct and timely deal for shareholders, the assets of ProfMedia and the industry as a whole," Olga Paskina, the president of ProfMedia, told Interfax.
She said consolidation by Gazprom Media opened up new advertising and content-related opportunities by expanding the portfolio of assets with a complementary audience.
ProfMedia manages the television channels TV3, MTV Russia and 2x2, radio stations Avtoradio, Energy, Humor FM and Radio Romantika. The media holding also includes distribution company Central Partnership. Publishing and Internet business, managed in conjunction with SUP Media, is not part of the deal with Gazprom Media.
Interros considered an IPO for ProfMedia of $500 million on the London Stock Exchange in the spring of 2010. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse were appointed to organize the IPO but in the end it did not go ahead.
ProfMedia boosted revenue 12% to 15.9 billion rubles last year. Net losses widened to 1.12 billion rubles, from 127 million rubles in 2011.
ProfMedia said in a report that as of December 31 last year, the Interros group's Applecourt Holdings Limited owned 95% and Interros International owned 4% of the company. A "third party," who was not named, owned 1%.
Gazprom Media includes television channels NTV and TNT, satellite TV company NTV-Plus, radio stations Ekho Moskvy, City-FM, Relax-FM, Detskoye Radio, Comedy Radio, publishing house Seven Days, film production company NTV-Kino, the movie theatres Oktyabr and Crystal Palace, video website Rutube and a sales house.
LLC Elion, which according to the SPARK-Interfax database is an affiliate of Gazprombank, owns 60% of the company.
