CME may be selling ProTV

Central Media Enterprises (CME), the mother company of Pro TV, is considering selling the companies and brands it owns in Romania.

According to a blog post of Catalin Tolontan, journalist at Gazeta Sporturilor, CME is negotiating with various parties the sale of the Pro TV channel, which it estimates at between EUR 150 million and EUR 200 million.

Telecom operator RCS&RDS and Dogan Media Group, which runs the Kanal D station, have been involved in discussions on this issue, comments Tolontan.

CME also intends to sell the Buftea studios and the ProFM and InfoPro radio stations, says Tolontan.

For the Buftea Studios, media mogul Cristian Burci, owner of Prima TV stations, is the main candidate.

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The ProFM and InfoPro radio stations are coveted by businessman Sebastian Ghita, owner of Romania TV channel, and by Swiss media group Ringier, writes Tolontan.

CME’s move on selling its assets in Romania does not come as a surprise, given the poor financial indicators posted by the company a couple of months after Adrian Sarbu’s departure from the management.

CME reported decreasing net revenues of USD 453.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, from USD 518.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Shortly afterwards, the value of CME shares shrunk by half.

CME also announced in November that it planned to make 1,000 employees redundant by the end of 2013.

Otilia Haraga