Enterprise Investors replaced by HMT&F as potential buyer of Aster City

American investment fund Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst (HMT&F) may soon take over cable TV operator Aster City, which is owned by Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET). Three companies have been shortlisted to buy the operator. It appears that HMT&F has offered the highest bid at zl. 500 million. The second highest offer of zl. 412 million was made by Enterprise Investors. The third largest bid was placed by Advent International, which allegedly is cooperating with the biggest cable operator in Poland, UPC. "HMT&F is also tipped as a front runner to buy cable television assets belonging to Deutsche Telekom. Polish companies are becoming part of global corporations," claims a cable operator representative. However, HMT&F has neither denied nor confirmed its bid for Aster City. "We do not comment on rumors," said HMT&F spokesman, Roy Winnick. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 5) M.M.