The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has approved the sale of a 50% stake in Tricolor TV, the country’s leading DTH platform, to an unnamed individual.
According to Vedomosti, the acquisition could pave the way for the eventual sale of the platform to a strategic investor.
Although Tricolor TV’s current ownership is unclear, it was reported earlier this year that three individuals held respective stakes of 50%, 37.4% and 12.6% in the company.
The platform also has links with the technology company General Satellite, but these apparently do not extend to its ownership.
Tricolor TV has been a take-over target for Gazprom-Media for some time and in fact it was reported in 2009 that a deal had been reached between the two parties.
However, it never materialised and in the meantime Tricolor TV’s valuation, despite its huge success, is understood to have fallen from $1 billion (€814.4 million) to $500 million.