According to the mass media, Leonard Blavatnik agreed to buy the majority part in Viasat Russia, owned by MTG.
The Russian edition Vedomosti reports, citing the CEO of the Russian media company and Russian government officials, that the businessman has been negotiating the purchase of Viasat for several years, and also points out that the assets to acquire comprise business not only in Russia, but also in a number of other emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe and Africa.
Answering the question of the Broadband TV News’ reporter, the representative of MTG stated that the company was currently considering various options and had not come to the final decision yet. The company also added that it was not about to comment on rumors circulating in the market.
Leonard Blavatnik was born in the Soviet Union, but is a US citizen now. For this reason, he intends to buy Viasat indirectly, through one of his Russian partners, so as not to violate the provisions of the Russian laws, limiting the share of foreign capital in the Russian media by up to 20 percent.
Among Blavatnik’s business interests we may call, in particular, the Warner Music Company, acquired in 2011 for USD 3.3 billion.
In Russia, Blavatnik owns Amedia, a leading company operating in production, which also controls three TV channels and Web service Amediateka.
