Suzanne
07-02-06, 12:16 PM
As many as 4 Bulgarian radio stations may change owners shortly if France's Lagardere and Luxembourg-based SBS Broadcasting Group complete successfully the take-over negotiations now in their final stages.
Lagardere is eyeing a 51% stake in Radiokompania OOD, the owner of Retro Radio, while SBS is set on acquiring radio and TV stations Veselina and radio stations Vitosha and Atlantic.
'We are holding talks with the French media company, it's true, but we are yet to get an offer we can't pass up,'' Retro Radio owner Martin Zahariev said. He added that the negotiations with Lagardere had started a year ago.
'I am in no hurry to wrap up the deal though it may turn out we are in the final stage of the talks. Time is on our side because the radio market is constantly growing,' Zahariev explained.
Radiokompania's majority owner is I.S.-M.I. with smaller stakes controlled by Media Team EOOD, NRG-Nova Radio Generatsiya EOOD and Lilyana Droumeva.
Lagardere have also inquired about the possibility of acquiring a stake in another local radio station, Darik Radio. 'There was interest in our station on the part of Lagardere but we are definitely not selling,' Darik Radio owner and executive director Radosvet Radev said.
'We are in talks with radio and TV station Veselina and radio stations Vitosha and Atlantic and the results should be known in about a month,' said SBS representative in Bulgaria Antoaneta Arsova.
Media experts say SBS is ready to invest more than 5 mln levs in this country.
The Bulgarian media market remains in the focus of foreign investors who are lured by the low cost of acquiring a frequency resource, the market's untapped advertising potential, especially in view of the country's expected EU membership, and the forthcoming change in the licensing regulations for local operators.
Over the past several months, Britain's Apace Media bought 66% of music television MM and 50% of media holding company Diema Vision.
Also in 2005, France's NRJ launched a station on the frequencies of a former sports radio while Emmis Communications Corporation of the U.S. acquired 66.5% of radio operator FM+.
http://news.dnevnik.bg/
Lagardere is eyeing a 51% stake in Radiokompania OOD, the owner of Retro Radio, while SBS is set on acquiring radio and TV stations Veselina and radio stations Vitosha and Atlantic.
'We are holding talks with the French media company, it's true, but we are yet to get an offer we can't pass up,'' Retro Radio owner Martin Zahariev said. He added that the negotiations with Lagardere had started a year ago.
'I am in no hurry to wrap up the deal though it may turn out we are in the final stage of the talks. Time is on our side because the radio market is constantly growing,' Zahariev explained.
Radiokompania's majority owner is I.S.-M.I. with smaller stakes controlled by Media Team EOOD, NRG-Nova Radio Generatsiya EOOD and Lilyana Droumeva.
Lagardere have also inquired about the possibility of acquiring a stake in another local radio station, Darik Radio. 'There was interest in our station on the part of Lagardere but we are definitely not selling,' Darik Radio owner and executive director Radosvet Radev said.
'We are in talks with radio and TV station Veselina and radio stations Vitosha and Atlantic and the results should be known in about a month,' said SBS representative in Bulgaria Antoaneta Arsova.
Media experts say SBS is ready to invest more than 5 mln levs in this country.
The Bulgarian media market remains in the focus of foreign investors who are lured by the low cost of acquiring a frequency resource, the market's untapped advertising potential, especially in view of the country's expected EU membership, and the forthcoming change in the licensing regulations for local operators.
Over the past several months, Britain's Apace Media bought 66% of music television MM and 50% of media holding company Diema Vision.
Also in 2005, France's NRJ launched a station on the frequencies of a former sports radio while Emmis Communications Corporation of the U.S. acquired 66.5% of radio operator FM+.
http://news.dnevnik.bg/