Telewizja Polsat (Polsat TV) has concluded a preliminary agreement with Bauer Media Group for the purchase of Interia Group. It is a strategic decision from the point of view of Polsat Group’s development, which will contribute to achieving its significant position on the Internet. Upon finalization of the transaction, which is contingent on Telewizja Polsat obtaining the approval from the anti-trust authority, Interia Group will become a member of Polsat Group, the biggest media-and-telecommunications group in Poland and in the region.
“We are a Polish company and we are proud to be the leader of the media-and-telecommunications market in Poland. Acquisition of Interia Group is yet another strategic investment into the development of our Group. Interia Group is a leading player in this segment. We are excited about the enormous scale of opportunities and synergies generated by this investment. We count on Interia’s dynamic development,” said Mirosław Błaszczyk, CEO of Cyfrowy Polsat S.A. and Polkomtel Sp. z o.o.
Interia Group is at present among the top three Internet players in Poland, both in terms of the actual number of users and the number of page views, while also being the leader in terms of growth dynamics. Interia Group is a leading player on the Polish market of new generation media, reaching nearly 60% of Internet users in Poland. Its services are used by over 16 million real users every month. The number of page views of the Interia Group's websites exceeds 1.3 billion per month. Belonging to the group Internet portal Interia.pl, being one of the three largest horizontal portals in Poland, provides individual Internet users with a vast selection of the highest quality information, multimedia, social and communication services.
“Interia Group is a very successful business but we must be sure that we are clearly focused on our key strategic priorities. That is why we are glad that we can sell Interia Group to Polsat Group, which is a very good strategic solution. We would like to thank Artur Potocki, the President of the Management Board, as well as the whole Interia team for the consistent and successful development of the business while wishing them all the best!” said Veit Dengler, COO of Bauer Media Group.
For Polsat Group acquisition of Interia is a strategic investment in the area of the Internet. It substantially strengthens the Group’s position on the dynamically growing online advertising market. It also creates an additional channel for distribution and monetization of the content which is currently produced for the needs of the 34 channels which bear the Polsat logo. For Polsat Group Interia will also be the main area for marketing the entire portfolio of Polsat’s products and services in the Internet, including such brands as Plus, Cyfrowy Polsat, IPLA, Netia, or Polsat TV brands. Polsat Media, in turn, can support sale of Interia’s advertising space.
“We are buying a well-managed business with a strong market position in the Internet. It fits perfectly with Polsat TV’s strategy. We want to deliver attractive content via all possible distribution channels. Thanks to Interia our content will gain another field of exploitation. Our offer for advertisers will be enriched by very effective online advertising formats with extensive reach. We want to have strong position on the dynamically growing online advertising market. We are counting on both, Interia Group’s potential as well as its employees, their competencies and experience, which will surely enable us to pursue our ambitious goals effectively” adds Stanisław Janowski, CEO of Telewizja Polsat Sp. z o.o.
The transaction will be fully financed from Telewizja Polsat’s own funds.
Transaction finalization is contingent on Telewizja Polsat obtaining the consent for the concentration from the President of UOKiK (the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection).
Greenberg Traurig Grzesiak sp.k was the legal advisor of Telewizja Polsat, with Trigon acting as its financial advisor.
