Mr. Solorz, the owner of 100% of shares in Polsat, the second largest commercial TV station in Poland after TVN, has given more details regarding his plans on selling a minority stake in the company. He said that up to 20% of capital would be sold to outside investors by early 2007. That would include a stock exchange listing and placement for a selected media group with international experience in running TV business. Mr. Solorz has not decided yet, whether Polsat would issue new shares, or sell the existing stock.
Our view: We view the news as negative for Agora, cancelling its plans to increase the exposure to electronic media segment of the advertising market, because its lack of international experience excludes Agora from the list of potential strategic partners for Polsat.
It is also negative for TVN, which has been increasing its audience share at Polsat’s expense lately, driven by the latter lack of skills in programming. However, please note that Polsat has withdrawn from its listing plans several times already in the past, therefore the negative impact of yesterday’s announcement could be muted.