Press Releases
News Corporation agrees sale of bTV to CME
London, 18 February 2010 – News Corporation announced today it
has reached an agreement to sell bTV, its Bulgarian terrestrial TV business,
to Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the leading broadcaster in
Central and Eastern Europe.
Under the terms of the agreement, CME will pay $400 million in cash for 100
per cent of the terrestrial free-to-air TV channel, bTV. It will also take
control of the two genre channels, bTV Comedy and bTV Cinema, along with
News Corporation’s 74-per-cent interest in Radio Company CJ, which operates
several radio stations.
This sale completes News Corporation's programme of exiting its substantial
Eastern European free-to-air broadcasting businesses.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval by the Bulgarian
Commission for the Protection of Competition and other customary closing
conditions.
News Corporation was advised by JP Morgan.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of
December 31, 2009 of approximately US$56 billion and total annual revenues
of approximately US$30 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global
media company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed
entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast
satellite television; integrated marketing services; newspapers and
information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News
Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental
Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.
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