PPF Group is now only one major step away from taking over Central European Media Enterprises (CME).
On September 1 the European Commission was officially notified of the transaction, first announced in October last year, and said it will provisionally make a ruling on what it has classified as case M.9669, by October 6.
CME is one of the longest established commercial broadcasters in CEE and currently has interests in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovenia.
PPF Group is owned by the Czech billionaire Petr Kellner. PPF Group agreed to buy CME, whose main owner is AT&T, for around $2.1 billion.
The deal, which has been criticised by the US senator Marco Rubio and raised political concerns in the Czech Republic, was approved by CME’s shareholders in February this year.
