Hungarian billionaire buys Slovenia’s most popular TV channel

Photo: Facebook.com/takarekcsoport

Chairman and CEO of TakarékBank József Vida has recently bought Slovenia’s third-biggest and most popular broadcaster. Officially, Planet TV will be part of Vida’s TV2 Group from 1 October.

TV2 Group, owned by Hungarian billionaire József Vida, recently acquired Slovenia’s most popular broadcaster, Planet TV, from Telekom Slovenije, Forbes reports.

Planet TV is one of the best-known TV groups in Slovenia with a 6 per cent prime-time audience share. It encompasses three commercial television channels: Planet, Planet 2, and Planet Plus. Regardless, the channel was struggling with serious financial difficulties.

TV2 Group showed interest in the indebted Planet TV in the past, but it was only this summer that the group was announced as the final buyer.

Telekom Slovenije eventually sold the broadcaster for EUR 5 million (HUF 1.7 billion) to TV2 Group.

The deal was approved by all authorities who found no concern in terms of competition law. Pavel Stantchev has been appointed the new CEO, and Spela Pirnat is going to be the new COO of Planet TV.

TV2 Group was formed in 2013, and it operates a portfolio including TV2 and its 14 sister channels. Following Andy Vajna’s death in 2019, the whole group was sold to Hungarian businessman József Vida. Vida is also chairman-CEO of TakarékBank and has investments in the financial, banking, IT, real estate, and financial consulting sectors.

TakarékBank is the central institution for over 60 co-operative banks and their 1,100 branch offices. It consolidates its co-operative banks and forms the Takarék Group, which is the fourth-largest bank in Hungary.