HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 7, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. ("CME") (Nasdaq:CETV) (Prague Stock Exchange:CETV) has announced today the closing of its previously announced transaction to sell 100% of its Ukraine operations, including the Studio 1+1 and Kino channels, to Harley Trading Limited, a company beneficially owned by Igor Kolomoisky.
CME received cash consideration of US$ 30 million on February 1, 2010 and the balance of US$ 278 million on April 7, 2010, which includes US$ 8 million for the reimbursement of cash expenses of the Studio 1+1 group incurred between signing and closing of the transaction.
The proceeds from the transactions will be used to fund the acquisition of the bTV group, a leading free-to-air broadcasting group in Bulgaria. The acquisition is expected to close in April 2010.
CME is a leading vertically integrated media company operating broadcasting, internet and TV content businesses in six Central and Eastern European countries with an aggregate population of approximately 50 million people. CME's television stations are located in Bulgaria (Pro.bg and Ring.bg), Croatia (Nova TV), Czech Republic (TV Nova, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport and MTV Czech), Romania (PRO TV, PRO TV International, Acasa, PRO Cinema, Sport.ro and MTV Romania), Slovakia (TV Markíza, Doma) and Slovenia (POP TV, Kanal A and TV Pika). CME is traded on the NASDAQ and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CETV".
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those relating to future acquisitions. For these statements and all other 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. Future events and actual results, affecting our strategic plan as well as our financial position, results of operations and cash flows, could differ materially from those described in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements.