Sudden U-turn on TVN Sale. Big Surprise

• In recent months, a lot of information has appeared about the future of TVN television.
• Those interested in taking over the station included Michał Sołowow, Wirtualna Polska and RASP.
• Ultimately, Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to sell the television.

In recent months, the media reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was offering three packages for sale:

• TVN (all stations with this logo, including TVN24);
• thematic channels (stations licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery, e.g. TLC, Discovery Channel, HGTV, etc.);
• Canal+ Polska - through TVN Media, Warner Bros (Discovery owns 32% of shares).

The following people have shown interest in sending an offer:

• billionaire Michal Sołowow,
• a consortium of about 30 Polish investors gathered around Wirtualna Polska,
• Ringier Axel Springer Polska (RASP) - known in Poland as the owner of Onet, "Fakt" and "Newsweek" - in a consortium with the private equity fund CVC Capital Partners (the main shareholder of Żabka).

The highest bid was supposed to be submitted by Michał Sołowow. However, the billionaire withdrew his bid before Warner Bros. Discovery announced.

At some point, the media reported that the Hungarian scenario was the most likely. The matter became so serious that the government decided to react. Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that TVN and Polsat television stations would be placed on a list of strategic companies that are subject to protection, for example, against aggressive and dangerous takeovers from the point of view of state interests. Let us recall that companies that appear on this list cannot be sold without the consent of the Polish government.

Warner Bros. Discovery will not sell TVN

Ultimately, Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to sell the television.

In mid-April, Kasa Kieli, president and managing director of Warner Bros. Discovery Poland and CEO of TVN, and Gerhard Zeiler, president of WBD International, sent a letter to WBD employees in Poland in which they wrote that "over the past few months we have been reviewing strategic options for TVN" .

One of the options considered was the sale of the company, the managers noted.

"Today we would like to inform you that we have completed this stage. We have decided that the optimal option is for TVN to remain within the WBD structures and develop our business within one group," they informed.

Information about the possible sale of TVN appeared last year, in August the Financial Times wrote about it. In December Reuters reported that the Americans had started the process of selling the Polish station.

TVN may be worth over a billion dollars.