TVN Says TV Asset Move to Separate Unit Not Part of Sale Process

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- TVN SA’s proposal to move its television assets to a separate unit “has nothing to do with the sale process” conducted by owner ITI Holdings SA, said Karol Smolag, spokesman for Poland’s biggest television network.

TVN yesterday said it planned transfer operations valued at 2.2 billion zloty ($700 million) to 2.7 billion zloty, including its key television channel brands, to the subsidiary. Shareholders will vote on the plan on Nov. 15.

“We adjust the organizational structure in order to address the future challenges to the Polish media market in a most efficient way,” Smolag said in a text message late yesterday.

Owners of TVN want to complete the sale of their 56 percent stake by the end of October, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna reported on Oct. 17. Vivendi SA and Time Warner Inc. are bidding to buy TVN, the newspaper said.

--Editors: James Kraus, Chris Peterson

To contact the reporters on this story: Marta Waldoch in Warsaw at mwaldoch@bloomberg.net; Maciej Martewicz in Warsaw at mmartewicz@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net