Sudden U-turn on TVN Sale: The Favorite Withdrew
Michał Sołowow was supposed to withdraw from plans to take over TVN from Warner Bros. Discovery - according to unofficial information. The reason for such a decision is the market turmoil related to President Donald Trump's trade policy.
- Billionaire Michał Sołowow has withdrawn from plans to take over TVN from the Americans, Business Insider Polska reported.
- Recently, information emerged that the highest offer came from a Polish billionaire.
- TVN may be worth over a billion dollars.
As reported by Business Insider Polska, the richest Pole, Michał Sołowow, has withdrawn from plans to take over TVN from Warner Bros Discovery.
I neither confirm nor deny, said Maciej Gorzeliński, representing Sołowow's companies.
BI reports that the reason for abandoning the plans is "market turmoil related to Donald Trump's tariff policy, which has worsened the climate for acquisition transactions."
As reported recently by "Gazeta Wyborcza", Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of the TVN group, has reportedly offered 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).
Offers were to be submitted by:
- 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).
According to unofficial information, it was Michał Sołowow who submitted the highest bid.
Who will buy TVN? Michał Sołowow is said to have withdrawn his offer
In recent months, a lot of information has appeared about the future of TVN. Among the potential buyers, apart from WP, Sołowow and RASP, were:
- billionaire Renata Kellnerová, the investment fund of the widow of the richest Czech has a capital presence, among others, in Rafał Brzoska's InPost;
- Hungarian television TV2 linked to Viktor Orban.
- Greek Antenna Group;
- French Canal+
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.
The matter was commented on on portal X by the former US ambassador to Poland, Mark Brzezinski.
Media pluralism is the foundation of democracy. I know how much Poles value access to free and diverse media. In the face of global challenges related to foreign, harmful interference, it is important for governments to take action to protect their strategic infrastructure from potential threats to national security - he emphasized.
In accordance with the recent regulation, the following companies have been added to the list of companies subject to protection:
- Cyfrowy Polsat,
- TVN,
- P4 - Play network operator,
- T-Mobile,
- WB Electronics
Other entities are:
- Alpetrol,
- Szczecin Chemical Plant "Baltchem",
- Emitel,
- Gaspol,
- Azoty Group,
- Have,
- KGHM,
- Octane Energy&V/L Service,
- Orange,
- Orlen,
- Polkomtel,
- Gdańsk Refinery,
- Stoen Operator,
- Tauron PE,
- TK Telekom,
- Unimot Terminals.
- Częstochowa Steelworks
For Huta Częstochowa and the Development and Implementation Center "Telesystem-Mesko" the control body is the Minister of National Defense. For the remaining bodies the body is the Minister of State Assets.
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