The formal procedure concerning the change of ownership of TVN began on Thursday, the State Assets Minister Wojciech Balczun announced. According to the head of the ministry, the deal will also be reviewed by the Internal Security Agency (ABW).
Balczun shared the information in an interview with Business Insider Polska on Friday, November 6. He stressed that the ministry will not be the only body analyzing the transaction – the Internal Security Agency (ABW) will also be involved in its assessment. As of publication, we had not found any statement from the Ministry of State Assets (MAP) or the ABW describing the scope of this analysis.
From notification to formal start
The acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance was completed in the first half of October. It resulted in acquiring indirect dominance over TVN S.A., which has been on the list of entities protected under the Act of July 24, 2015 on the control of certain investments since 2024. Therefore, the new owner had to notify the minister of state assets – in an ex post formula, meaning after the transaction.
According to earlier information from the ministry, the notification arrived on the evening of October 13. At the end of October, Balczun said the documentation had gaps, so the MAP requested that it be supplemented, and the formal procedure would begin once the documents were complete. Thursday’s start of the procedure therefore follows from this path.
What the ministry is examining
The minister emphasized that the ministry will neither assess nor block the transaction carried out in the United States. Only the impact of the change of control on the company in Poland is being examined – the aim is to assess whether it poses a threat to security or public order. The MAP has 90 days to complete the procedure.
The procedure may end with one of two decisions: finding no grounds to restrict the exercise of shareholder rights by the existing shareholder, or a negative one. In the second case, the minister may order the disposal of TVN S.A. shares within a specified deadline.
„A purely administrative procedure”
In early October, after the MAP’s first statement, Balczun told Kanał Zero that it is an „absolutely substantive, objective administrative procedure” resulting from a statutory obligation. He also noted that the United States is Poland’s most important ally and that no one disputes this. The case was then causing strong political emotions, and the minister urged that it not be politicized.
We also write about media and the communications market in our article about the plans of Kanał Zero and the zero.pl portal.
