Kovalchuk and media company Mordashov was estimated at 150 billion rubles. – RBC

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« Gazprom-Media “has acquired 7.5 % shares of National media group for 11.2 billion rubles. Thus, the entire group was rated by almost 150 billion rubles. The size of the sold package coincides with a share, which is in the possession of LMWH Gennady Timchenko

Outlook for pay-TV

In March 2016 Gazprom-Media holding company bought 7.5 % shares of National media group (NMG). This follows from the disclosure of information, Gazprombank, which owns 100% of “Gazprom-Media”. The deal amounted to 11.2 billion rubles., says the document. Thus, the entire National Media Group was valued at 148.32 billion rubles (more than € 1.9 billion Central Bank on March 31, 2016, or $ 2.2 billion.).

Seller Name the parties do not reveal. The volume sold by the package coincides with the proportion of shares in the LMWH, which owned the founder Volga Group Gennady Timchenko. Businessman in 2013 gained just 7.5% of the shares in the Luxembourg media group RTL, wrote RBC. The amount of the transaction then was € 81 million, and all LMWH, it turns out, has been estimated at € 1,08 Bln. “I have funded projects related to media assets, but they are interested in me only from a commercial point of view, did not consider them as a tool of influence” – Timchenko said in August 2014 in an interview with Tass on their investment in the LMWH. He then emphasized that directly owns a “very small percentage” in the LMWH.

Quickly get a comment representative Timchenko has not yet succeeded. The representative of LMWH confirmed the deal, but did not disclose details or vendor name. General Director Olga LMWH Pascin did not answer the call correspondent RBC.

The representative of “Gazprom-Media” told RBC that the holding company is interested in diversifying its business through partnerships with players in the media market. The deal with the National Media group there is estimated as the investment involved, which will allow to respond effectively to market changes

«Business LMWH has considerable potential, particularly in the promising segment of pay-TV, -. The representative of” Gazprom-Media, said. ” – We also expect that the equity interest in the company will allow to share expertise and collaborate in the creation of original content and distribution »

The National Media Group emerged in 2008 through the merger of assets used ankh” Russia “Yuri Kovalchuk. SOGAZ, “Surgutneftegaz” and the chairman of “Severstal” Alexey Mordashov board of directors. The ownership structure of LMWH is not fully known. Last LMWH disclose its financial performance in 2014: then proceeds under RAS Holding amounted to 3 billion rubles, net loss – 617 million rubles.. Under IFRS, revenue for 2013 amounted to 14.7 billion rubles, an operating profit of almost 2.4 billion rubles, net profit -.. 1.5 billion rubles

At the end of March 2016 at the General LMWH replaced. Director: Alexander Ordzhonikidze instead (led the team since 2009) was appointed Olga Pascin, who led the Discovery Networks in the North-Eastern Europe. The reasons for the reshuffle in the company did not disclose. The LMWH include “Channel Five” (the group owns 72.4%), “First Channel” (25%), REN TV (68%), “Izvestiya” newspaper (73.2%) and radio “Russian News Service” ( 100%). The group also has been running a newspaper “of Metro-Petersburg” in St. Petersburg acquired a 25% stake in the founder of the newspaper “Sport-Express”. In March 2014 NMG bought 50% of the share capital of “Art Pictures Vision”, part of “Art Pictures” group of companies

In 2015, agreements were reached on cooperation with major foreign companies in the pay TV market:. Groups Discovery, Viasat and Turner. Discovery Networks under the leadership of Pascin the first contract for a joint venture with LMWH – now it controls the Russian version of the TV channels Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Eurosport, etc. As a result of these transactions and partnerships LMWH now controls about 20% of the pay TV market in Russia.. According to a source close to the holding, only in the last quarter of 2015. Revenue NMG has grown to 150 million rbl., Including through a partnership with Discovery.

Non-market transactions

The National media group on the results of the transaction with “Gazprom-media” has been evaluated in more than eight times more expensive than holding “STS media”, which includes the STS channels, “Home”, “Che” and CTC Love, as well as an online service “Videomore”. Over 75% of Russian business “CTC Media” Alisher Usmanov and Ivan Tavrin in February 2016 paid $ 193.1 million. Thus, the whole business of the company was valued at $ 257.5 million (20 billion rubles).

at the same time the value of the company CTC media, which is traded on the NASDAQ, has taken a beating due to foreign developments, the depreciation of the ruble and, in particular, the law limiting foreign ownership in the media. In September 2014, when the Duma was only amended the law “On mass media”, the capitalization of “CTC Media” on the NASDAQ amounted to nearly $ 1.5 billion.

In the same 2014 “Gazprom-Media “under the leadership of Mikhail Lesin has acquired the assets of the holding” Prof-Media “(TV channels TV3,” Friday! “2 × 2, the radio station” Autoradio “,” Romance “Humor FM,” Energy “and the film company” Central Partnership (Central Partnership) “) for the $ 603 million (or 21.03 billion rubles. at the rate of April 2015). The ruble equivalent of the National Media Group was valued at seven times more expensive than assets “Prof-Media».

In the opinion analyst, “Raiffeisenbank” Sergei Libin assessment of the National Media Group to 148.32 billion rubles, that is 10 times last longer disclose earnings under IFRS, or 50 times the revenue generated in 2014 by RAS, is very high for the industry media – despite the fact that in the recent financial results of LMWH are not taken into account yet paid off-air channels. “There is no public market for such companies, therefore, the asset is worth so much, for how much the buyer is willing to buy it, and the seller is willing to sell, – RBC Libin said. – It is a private, not a market transaction. It seems to me, to the market, to the prospects of pay-TV has it all indirect relationship ».

Revenue” Gazprom-Media “on results of 2015 has reached 73.6 billion rubles., Which is 2% more than in the previous year it follows from the statements of Gazprombank. Advertising revenues increased by 3%, to 57.3 billion rubles. The portfolio of “Gazprom-Media” – essential TV channels (NTV, TNT, 2×2, TV3, “Friday”, “Match!”), Radio stations ( “Echo of Moscow”, “Autoradio”, “Humor the FM” and others.) satellite TV operator “NTV-plus” and its non-terrestrial channels, video services and Rutube Now.ru, sellers of advertising and content producers.