
Central European Media Enterprises to Be Acquired by PPF
October 27, 2019
Download this Press Release ()
-- Transaction Valued at Approximately US$ 2.1 Billion
US$ 4.58 Per Class A Common Share in Cash
32% Premium to Unaffected Share Price
HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. ( CME or the Company ) (NASDAQ/Prague Stock Exchange: CETV) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of PPF Group N.V. ( PPF Group ) in a cash transaction valued at approximately US$ 2.1 billion.
Under the terms of the agreement, holders of all of CME's issued and outstanding Class A common shares will receive US$ 4.58 per share. This valuation represents a premium of approximately 32% to CME's share price prior to the announcement on March 25, 2019 that the Company was commencing a process to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives.
John Billock, Chairman of the CME Board of Directors, said, The Special Committee of the Board, together with our advisors, conducted an extensive review of alternatives, which involved outreach to and engagement with a significant number of strategic and financial parties. This announcement today reaffirms our commitment to deliver value to all shareholders.
In a joint statement, Michael Del Nin and Christoph Mainusch, Co-Chief Executive Officers, said, Over the course of the last six years, while transforming the business and delivering a continuous stretch of astonishing profitability growth, our primary focus has been on creating value for our owners. This transaction, which is the culmination of those efforts, is the right one for our shareholders and a satisfying conclusion to one of the most successful turnarounds of a leading media company in recent times. We are pleased that the PPF Group, with a strong track record as operators of businesses across many industries, shares our perspective on the importance of local content and its ability to attract large audiences to television.
The agreement has been approved unanimously by CME's Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Special Committee of the Board. CME's largest shareholder, AT&T Inc., has agreed to vote in favor of the transaction. The acquisition is expected to be completed around the middle of 2020, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The consummation of the transaction is not subject to any financing contingencies.
The Company is being advised by Allen & Company LLC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch as its financial advisors, and Covington & Burling LLP as its legal advisor.
About CME
CME is a media and entertainment company operating leading businesses in five Central and Eastern European markets with an aggregate population of approximately 45 million people. CMEs operations broadcast 30 television channels in Bulgaria (bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady and Ring), the Czech Republic (Nova, Nova 2, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport 1, Nova Sport 2, Nova International, Nova Action and Nova Gold), Romania (PRO TV, PRO 2, PRO X, PRO GOLD, PRO CINEMA, PRO TV International and PRO TV Chisinau), the Slovak Republic (TV Mark za, Mark za International, Doma and Dajto) and Slovenia (POP TV, Kanal A, Brio, Oto and Kino). CME is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CETV .
About PPF Group
PPF Group invests in multiple market segments such as financial services, telecommunications, biotechnology, real estate and mechanical engineering. The reach of PPF Group spans from Europe to North America and across Asia. PPF Group owns assets exceeding EUR 45 billion (as of December 2018).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy or are otherwise beyond our control and some of which might not even be anticipated. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and because our business is subject to such risks and uncertainties, actual results, our strategic plan, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could differ materially from those described in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements.
Additional Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find it
This communication relates to a proposed merger between CME and an affiliate of PPF Group N.V. that will be the subject of a proxy statement that CME intends to file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC ). This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, and is not a substitute for the proxy statement or any other document that CME may file with the SEC or send to its shareholders in connection with the proposed merger. Investors and shareholders are urged to read the proxy statement and all other relevant documents filed with the SEC or sent to CME's shareholders as they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed merger. All documents, when filed, will be available free of charge at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). You may also obtain documents filed by CME with the SEC by writing to CME Investor Relations, Krizeneckeho nam. 1078/5, 152 00 Prague 5 Czech Republic, emailing investorrelations@cme.net or visiting CME's website at www.cme.net.
Participants in Solicitation
The Company and its directo
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced Dalet Solution Suites, a new portfolio of cloud-native solutions ...
11/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase how media companies can prep...
11/08/2026
Transforming your audience into advocates with Kelsey Gamble 10 August 2026
Building community, harnessing fandom for marketing and activating the four stages ...
10/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
10/08/2026
Saturation plug-in free until 20 August 2026
fedDSP have announced the launch of Raiju, a new guitar pedal-style saturation plug-in that's capable of de...
10/08/2026
New mix-comparison & feedback tool
Independent Swedish record label I/O Music have recently released a handy new tool that provides artists, engineers, prod...
10/08/2026
Additive soft synth gains free counterpart
Sound Radix have just released a free monophonic additive software synth that's based on the same engine as t...
10/08/2026
Chroma integrates MXO oscilloscopes into ATS 8000 platform, rounding out its hig...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Students in the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) gain rare, real world experience in professio...
10/08/2026
FOR-A is using its presence at IBC2026 (stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to show how its products deliver the answers to the real challenges faced...
10/08/2026
Frontier EU, official Peplink distributor for Europe, will exhibit at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam from 11 to 14 September, presenting live demonstrations of how Pepli...
10/08/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage Premiere Pro
Michael Cioni August 10, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup...
10/08/2026
Stunning Pixelated ASCII Effect for Apple Motion
Simon Ubsdell August 10, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Motion is perfect for building this popular ASCII unic...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Monday 10 August 2026
Welcome to the Show : Sky Creative unites football fans w...
10/08/2026
Red Seat Ventures' Speakeasy Brings Video to Apple Podcasts, Beginning with ...
10/08/2026
A major unconventional operator increased monthly pumping hours by more than 30% by automating critical frac completion processes and eliminating common sources...
10/08/2026
Today, Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB) unveiled the September schedule for...
09/08/2026
Combines physical modelling with subtractive synthesis
reFX, the company behind the popular Nexus and Vanguard2 soft synths have announced the launch of the...
09/08/2026
Human nuance is not a switch
Dreamtonics have built up a solid reputation off the back of their Synthesizer V Studio software, a powerful vocal-synthesis t...
09/08/2026
COW Jobs: Documentary Editor - Remote
Brie Clayton August 9, 2026
0 Comments
Documentary Editor
July 31, 2026COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representativ...
08/08/2026
Enhanced ToneNET integration & 220 new Premium V2 Tone Models
IK Multimedia have just launched a public beta of Tonex 2.0, a release which is said to repres...
08/08/2026
Honouring the drum machine that redefined modern music
Roland have announced their plans for this year's 808 Day, a day that was founded to celebrate th...
08/08/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
08/08/2026
Star Wars Hyperspeed Tutorial: The No-Echo Method in After Effects
Graham Quince August 8, 2026
0 Comments
The Echo Effect to create long streaks is n...
08/08/2026
Chyron Releases AXIS 4.0 With Expanded News Workflows and Richer Map Storytellin...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Foundry Unlocks Professional-Grade AI for VFX with Griptape Enterprise; Appoints...
08/08/2026
Award Winning New Horror Film Shot Using Blackmagic Camera App
Brie Clayton August 7, 2026
0 Comments
Fire Alive, shot using the Blackmagic Camera i...
08/08/2026
The global buildout of AI infrastructure reached a new milestone today - Firebird, an emerging AI cloud, launched the CIS region's largest AI factory in Arm...
07/08/2026
Diversified has appointed industry veteran Pete Emminger as global chief technology officer. Emminger will lead the company's global go-to-market technology...
07/08/2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...
07/08/2026
An instrument made for the adventurous composer
Described as an instrument made for the adventurous composer , Sonuscore's latest sample library has b...
07/08/2026
Latest solo Synchron libraries arrive
VSL have just released the final two instalments in their range of muted solo string libraries. Recorded in the large ...
07/08/2026
Channel strip offers plug-in control & recall
Along with some new additions to their Inherit modular preamp system, GC Audio's announcements for NAMM 20...
07/08/2026
Opening Statement: Public hearing of the Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence ...
07/08/2026
DoubleVerify Shareholders to Receive $13.60 Per Share in Cash, Representing a 30...
07/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...