One of the largest media deals has been concluded in Russia.
Kismet Capital Group (KCG), founded by Russian businessman Ivan Tavrin, has sold the Media1 group of companies, which includes Muz-TV, Yu, and Sun TV channels (their total audience reaches more than 100 million people per month) to a number of investors.
Among these investors is Media Telecom, which is controlled by the National Media Group (40%) and Rostelecom (40%).
Ivan Tavrin is a Russian investor, in 2023 he was sanctioned by the United States, and in 2024 by the United Kingdom.
The National Media Group is associated with the structures of banker Yuri Kovalchuk, who is a close friend of Russian President Vadim Putin.
In 2014, Yuri Kovalchuk was sanctioned by the United States and Great Britain. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Kovalchuk is a close adviser to President Putin and is referred to as one of his “cashiers.”
The National Media Group (NMG) owns several TV channels in Russia, including Channel One, Channel 78, Ren-TV and CTC, as well as newspapers Delovoy Peterburg and Izvestia.
On December 16, 2022, NMG was included in the EU sanctions list because the media controlled by this holding company spread propaganda and disinformation, according to the European Union.
