| Severstal gained control over the most liberal TV channel Another oligarch loyal to the authorities received an invitation to the all-Russian media market. The owner of Severstal Group, Alexey Mordashov, who was a confidant of candidate Putin in the last presidential elections, received control of a 69.89% stake in the Ren TV channel. As Olga Antonova, head of the press service of Severstal Group, told Vremya Novostey, negotiations on the purchase of a majority stake from RAO UES of Russia were completed last Friday. The creators of the channel and its minority shareholders Irena and Dmitry Lesnevsky not only did not exercise their right to the priority purchase of RAO UES's share, but also preferred to get rid of their 30% stake. True, they sold them not to commercial structures close to the authorities, but to the German company RTL Group, which is a co-owner of 31 TV channels and 33 radio stations in ten European countries. The Lesnevskys have not yet commented in detail on their actions, but speak very cautiously about the channel’s prospects after the change of owners, relying on “the professionalism, reputation, experience and huge potential of the RTL Group.”
RAO UES, which supported the channel in 2000 during a difficult time for television workers, was a rather profitable partner for Ren TV. Having invested $30 million in the authorized capital of Ren TV Media Holding LLC, Anatoly Chubais did not demand the right to control editorial policy, and today the news of this particular channel is considered by many to be a model of professionalism on Russian TV. And at the last TEFI ceremony, TV academics, ignoring the information and analytical programs of meter channels, gave the prize to the Ren TV program “24” and its host Olga Romanova.
At the same time, power engineers were constantly reproached for non-core assets, and the board of directors of RAO UES eventually had to get rid of them. On Friday it was announced that the shares owned by a subsidiary of RAO UES, the open joint-stock company TsOR UES, would be transferred not directly to Severstal, but to the minority shareholder of the channel, the Robos company, which would later be acquired by the owners of the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant. Severstal-Group has not yet commented on the cost of the transaction, but RAO UES, proving that the decision made in 2000 to enter the channel’s authorized capital was correct, emphasized that today the value of the stake owned by power engineers is estimated at $100 million .
As for Severstal, it has never been any significant player in the Russian media market. Its assets in this area were rather modest and limited to the Vologda region, where the company owns the Cherepovets TV channel “12”, as well as a number of regional newspapers and a radio station. True, as an informed source at Severstal Group emphasized in a conversation with a Vremya Novostey correspondent, “they are all profitable.” “This is not a spontaneous purchase, but part of our business policy,” the company said. “The media market is actively developing, you can make money on it, and we want to participate in it as full members.”
The metallurgical holding hopes to establish an effective dialogue with the new minority shareholder RTL Group, which includes one of the largest international production companies, Fremantle Media, which produces 260 television programs for 40 countries. In turn, RTL representatives prefer not to discuss the media reputation of the new partner, focusing on covering other aspects of the deal, which should further strengthen the company’s position in the European information space. “The Russian advertising market is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, and entering it can strengthen the holding’s position as the only truly pan-European broadcasting company,” said RTL Group President Gerhard Zeiler in an interview.
Calling the deal with a European company “positive not only for the future of Ren TV, but also for the Russian media industry as a whole,” Irena and Dmitry Lesnevsky, who recently turned from co-owners of the channel into top managers, speak rather vaguely about their future in relation to their brainchild. It, according to them, “will become known after negotiations with all new shareholders.” And RTL Group, the founders of the channel, who cherish the hope of “preserving the freedom-loving spirit with the arrival of a foreign investor,” seem to be happy with the managers. However, it is unknown what personnel plans regarding Ren TV the main shareholder has. “The issue of the status of Messrs. Lesnevsky will be put on the agenda after all documents on the purchase of the majority stake are completed,” a source at Severstal Group told a Vremya Novostey correspondent. Anna ShPAK |
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