News Corporation Acquires 30 Percent Stake in TV Riga, Latvia
News Corporation today announced it has completed the acquisition of a 30% stake in TV Riga, a Latvian Russian language free–to–air broadcaster, increasing its ownership to 100%.
The transaction represents a consolidation of News Corporation European Television´s (NCE TV) assets in Latvia, which now include 100% ownership of LNT, the leading Latvian entertainment channel, and TV Riga.
NCE TV includes SKY Italia, a minority investment in German pay–TV operator Premiere and a range of holdings in broadcasters in such territories as Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, Serbia and Turkey.
News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of March 31, 2008 of approximately US$62 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$32 billion. News Corporation is a diversified entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers and information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.