Russia’s CTC backs UTH deal

Russian media giant CTC Media has approved UTH Russia’s acquisition of a 75% stake in the company from firms including Scandinavian operator Modern Times Group (MTG).

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UTH Russia, backed by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, will take a majority stake in the broadcaster, which operates networks including CTC, Domashniy, Peretz and CTC Love in Russia, as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan.

MTG held 38% of CTC and had been operating in Russia for nearly 15 years but the introduction of the country’s new Mass Media Law is forcing the deal.

It prevents international companies from holding more than 20% of Russian mass-media businesses, and will apply to all existing and future operations. The legislation will come into force on January 1, 2016, with Russian owners holding through off-shore companies having until January 2017 to comply.

The previous law had limited foreign ownership to 50% for channels that broadcast to at least half of Russia’s population.

Natasha Tsukanova, co-chairman of the CTC board, said: “We are delighted that our stockholders have approved the sale of a 75% interest in our operating business in advance of the effectiveness of the foreign ownership limitations imposed by the Russian Mass Media Law.”

CTC programming includes The Kitchen and Londongrad, while the company is also behind digital services including videomore.ru, domashniy.ru, ctc.ru, peretz.ru and CarambaTV.

UTH claims to be one of Russia’s fastest growing commercial TV broadcasters and operates U Channel, Disney Channel and cablenet MUZ-TV. The firm was formed by the merger of Media One Holdings’s and Art Finance & Media’s TV assets in 2009.