CNN founder Ted Turner has emerged as the front-runner to buy a stake in leading Russian independent TV station NTV after rival Rupert Murdoch decided not to pursue talks, according to wire reports on Wednesday.
Turner is expected to pick up a stake of around a quarter of NTV, the network founded by Vladimir Gusinsky, the Russian media mogul currently embroiled in a wrangle with the Russian government. Murdoch and his News Corp are understood to have been approached about a investing some months ago.
Gusinsky, who controls 49.5% of NTV as part of his Media-Most empire, has previously said he wants to sell to a 19% stake in NTV to a foreign investor. The tycoon, who now lives in self-exile in Spain, ceased to be the majority shareholder in the station after turning over a large stake to the state-dominated natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, to cancel debts.
The station is known for its readiness to protect its editorial independence and delivered groundbreaking critical broadcasts of the Chechen war.
No comments yet