OREANDA-NEWS. September 20, 2012. ITERA International Group of Companies has sold its block of shares with CTC Media, - publications in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) site state, reported the press-centre of ITERA.

In particular, ITERA had sold Itera Media Ltd. to Mediaset, a Bank of Russia company (both Itera Media Ltd. and Mediaset are co-founders of Telcrest Investments Limited, which owns a 25.2% stake with CTC Media).

An ITERA representative confirmed the sale of a shareholding with CTC Media. "We have been considering a possibility of being involved in media business, but then we decided to concentrate on certain core businesses, including gas, development, gas processing and power generation", - he said. According to the representative, the Company withdrew from the asset at a profit, but he provided no details. He added, though, that the asset "Was not within the perimeter of the joint venture with Rosneft".

Telcrest acquired a 25.2 per cent block of shares with CTC Media from Alpha-group for USD1.07 billion in May of 2011. Itera Media, CJSC Natzionalnaya Media Gruppa (CJSC National Media Group under the control of the Bank of Russia), Surgutneftegaz (Surgut Oil and Gaz, a Bank’s shareholder), Mediaset and Abit Holdings Limited, which is close to the Bank of Russia were founders of Telcrest.

According to data as at the end of 2011, the National Media Group held 18.16%, Mediaset held 26.72%, Abit Holdings held 13.62%, Surgutneftegaz held 13.62% and Itera Media owned 27.88% of voting shares with Telcrest.

Modern Times Group (MTG), a media holding of Sweden, with a block of shares of 38.2 per cent, is the principal shareholder of CTC Media.

CTC Media runs three TV channels in Russia, including CTC, Domashniy (Homish) and Peretz (Pepper), as well as Channel 31 in Kazakhstan and a TV Company in Moldova with an aggregate potential audience of over 150 million people. An international version of the CTC Channel is available in North America, Israel and Germany. The holding owns Kostafilm and Soho Media, the two teleproduction companies. Shares of the Company are quoted at NASDAQ under the quotation ticker of CTCM.

Under the US GAAP, the net profit of CTC Media went down by 11 per cent to USD 34.046 million in the second quarter of 2012. The Company’s revenue went down by 8 per cent to USD187.584 million.