Scripps Networks Interactive said it has completed the tender offer for the remaining shares of Polish cable network TVN it didn't already own on Sept. 1, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Scripps agreed to purchase a 53% interest in TVN in March for $645 million. According to Polish law, the media giant had to acquire at least 66% of the network within three months of closing the deal. Scripps said it officially closed the purchase in July and had earlier said it intended to purchase 100% of the network.
TVN is one of the leading media companies in Poland with a portfolio of free-to-air and pay-TV lifestyle and entertainment channels including TVN, TVN 7, TVN Style, TTV, TVN Turbo as well as 24-hour news channel, TVN24, and business news channel TVN24 Biznes i Swiat.
According to the SEC documents, the offering price for the TVN stock was 20 Polish Zloty (PLN) ($5.27) per share, or about 3.2 billion PLN ($844 million). On Sept. 1, Scripps purchased 156.7 million TVN shares through a subsidiary (Southbank Media) for 3.1 billon PLN, or $817 million, boosting its ownership in the company to 336 million TVN shares representing about 98.8% of its outstanding stock.
On Sept. 3, Scripps initiated a mandatory squeeze-out of the remaining shareholders by acquiring their TVN stock for 20 PLN each. In accordance with Polish law, a 5-day squeeze-out period will begin Sept. 23, during which time Scripps will acquire the remaining 84 million shares of TVN. After the period ends, Scripps intends to delist TVN’s stock from the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
