Warsaw, 19 April 2018 - Wolf Theiss has advised French media and publishing group Lagardere on the sale of its central European radio businesses, including Poland's second-largest radio station, Radio ZET. Wolf Theiss provided advisory services on all aspects of the transaction in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania.
Lagardere sold its radio assets in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania to Czech Media Invest. The transaction was the first in a series of disposals that are part of the company's strategic redeployment announced in March. The sale price of these assets was EUR 73 million.
"We are delighted to have been engaged in one of the most interesting transactions on the media market in central Europe in recent years. The scope of the project covered four jurisdictions and included strong radio brands in all of those countries," said Jacek Michalski, Partner and Head of the Corporate and M&A Practice at Wolf Theiss's Warsaw office, who led the transaction team. "Our client sought comprehensive professional service and we were able to fully cover each country involved in the deal."
In addition to Jacek Michalski, the Wolf Theiss team also included Jan Myska and Martin Kolacek from Wolf Theiss' Prague office and Zsofia Polyak, Melinda Pelikan and Diana Boross-Varga from Wolf Theiss' Budapest office. The Paris office of Herbert Smith Freehills also was counsel to Lagardere
Lagardere is a global leader in content publishing, production, broadcasting and distribution. Its shares are listed on Euronext Paris. Czech Media Invest, co-owned and managed by Daniel Kretinsky, is one of the largest media groups in the Czech Republic, with four daily titles, and numerous magazines and online domains. The company also owns two printing plants and is a leader in book publishing and press distribution.