Axel Springer has officially abandoned the planned purchase of 25% stake in Polsat, after more than a year of negotiations with Polsat owner Mr. Solorz.
Our view:
We expect a neutral market impact of the news today. The cancelling of the deal between Springer and Polsat has been the most likely scenario for some time. Going forward, Mr. Solorz options include: i) to run Polsat on his own, possibly listing Polsat shares on WSE, later in 2008, in an effort to catch-up with (25 PLN, -3,24%), ii) to seek a tie-up with strategic investor, which could boost Polsat marketing and programming position, possibly with (53 PLN, -3,62%), (2 045 CZK, 0,15%) or other party. We believe that both scenarios are equally likely, as Mr. Solorz has not given any indication about his preference so far.