MTV Russia and VH1 Russia have been acquired by the Russian diversified media company Pro-Media for around $360 million (€267.7 million) in cash. The deal was concluded through a company named Estermina Ltd, which secured a 100% stake in the two channels’ holding company Wayfarer Media Ltd, which was previously owned by MTV Networks International (53%), Russia Partners (42%) and the EBRD (5%). MTV Russia was the first MTV operation to be launched in Central and Eastern Europe, making its debut in 1998. It currently reaches 35 million TV households, while VH1 Russia reaches 6.6 million, primarily via cable.
