Polsat gains 98% control over Lithuanian BTV after major share purchase

Polsat, one of Poland's major privately owned commercial television stations, has acquired full control over Lithuania's BTV, which has a 12% viewership share in its market. Polsat now holds 98% of BTV's shares after recently acquiring a 47% share on top of the 51% it had purchsed in 1999. The amount of money involved in the transaction was not disclosed, but Kestutis Makaitis, the former owner of the recently-acquired 47% share, had stated earlier that he expected $5 million. After the transaction, he was said to be unhappy with the result of negotiations. Polsat, which is planning to begin trading on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), began its Baltic invasion in 1999. Besides its ownership of BTV, it also holds 60% of Latvian LNT and 100% of LNT in Estonia, which ceased operations last month and brought $2 million in losses to the Polish investor. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 23) A.K.