17-06-2012

Lauder, Time Warner Complete Purchase of CME Stock

By FNE Staff

    {mosimage}Central European Media Enterprise (CME, www.cetv-net.com) announced it has completed the sale of 9.9 million shares of its Class A stock to Time Warner and another 2 million shares to CME founder Ronald Lauder (through his company RSL Capital) at $7.51 per share.

    The transaction brought in $89 million to CME, which will go toward payment of a loan from Time Warner. Time Warner now holds 40% of CME stock.

    CME stock, which trades as CETV on NASDAQ, had dropped from $8.94 in early May to $5.06 on 11 June 2012. It climbed 3.4% on 15 June with slightly higher trading, ending the day at $5.78.

    CME operates TV channels in six countries in CEE: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. It also has a content and distribution arm and a New Media division.