- Moving ahead of a law that will restrict foreign ownership of Russian media firms, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has offered $200M for 75% of CTC Media (NASDAQ:CTCM). CTCM shares are up 4.6% premarket.
- CTC Media is about 39% owned by Swedish group Modern Times, and the stock has declined 56% YTD and sank 81% over the past twelve months after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law requiring foreign companies to cut stakes in Russian media to no more than 20%.
- Modern Times says its interest in CTC Media is now for sale and considers it a "discontinued operation." Usmanov's UTH Russia will have a period of exclusivity to negotiate its cash offer for the controlling stake in CTCM.