The bidding process for Poland’s TVN has advanced, with three Polish business groups competing in the second round, ensuring the network is set to come under Polish ownership following intervention by Donald Tusk’s government in response to the threat of a possible Hungarian takeover, VSquare reports.

Hungary's TV2 has denied the claims, made below by the authors of this article, as absolutely false and noted that it has no relations with Russia, and has never had interest in acquiring TVN.

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In February, three Polish bidders advanced to the second round of bidding for TVN, Poland’s most influential private television network, as its current owner, the American media conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery, proceeds with the sale, VSquare has learned.

The sale has been closely followed in Poland, particularly due to earlier concerns that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s allies and Daniel Obajtek, the former CEO of Poland’s state-controlled oil giant Orlen, might attempt to take control of TVN and transform it into a politically aligned media outlet favoring the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party. These efforts ultimately failed, though not without significant political maneuvering behind the scenes.

Last year, the Orbán-linked TV2 Group reportedly explored the option of pursuing a bid for TVN, but its acquisition was widely expected to be blocked. Unsurprisingly, the Polish government under Prime Minister Donald Tusk opposed the idea and reportedly urged the Biden administration to take notice, given TVN’s American ownership. Polish media scrutinized the proposed acquisition, highlighting the close ties between TV2’s owners and Orbán, as well as their reported links to Russian business interests.

Speculation later emerged that the Czech investment group PPF could also be a contender, potentially in collaboration with Orbán’s allies. Before any of these foreign-linked bidders could gain traction, however, Donald Tusk’s government announced that TVN and other key Polish media companies would be classified as strategic enterprises, allowing the Polish government to prevent ownership changes that could introduce external political influence. This move effectively blocked any acquisition attempt by Hungarian, Russian, or other politically sensitive entities.

“There are rumors of interest from the East in acquiring or influencing Polish media. This is a very serious matter. We will not stand by and allow hostile states to brazenly interfere in our daily lives, economy, or electoral processes,” Tusk told at a press conference in December 2024.

Before the announcement, sources familiar with the media industry in Poland and Hungary told VSquare that TV2’s complex and opaque ownership structure provided a pretext for opposing its bid. (Hungary’s ruling elite has been known to use private equity funds as domestic offshores, obscuring the identities of those ultimately controlling key assets.) Meanwhile, although the Czech PPF group was not perceived as politically aligned in the same way as Hungary’s TV2, concerns were raised over its actions in Slovakia, where the company has been accused of bowing to pressure by Robert Fico’s government to influence editorial decisions at its local asset, TV Markíza. These developments also raised questions about how PPF might handle political influence in Poland should it secure ownership of TVN.

After such tumultuous news and rumors, the official bidding process moved forward and, according to VSquare’s information coming from a source with knowledge of the process, the network now appears set to come under Polish ownership. This is because only three domestic business groups have advanced to the second round of bidding. They are:

Michał Sołowow, a billionaire industrialist and one of Poland’s wealthiest individuals, has publicly confirmed his bid.

A consortium led by Wirtualna Polska, which includes Rafał Brzoska, the owner of the logistics firm InPost – their entry to the race was first reported by Radio Zet’s Mariusz Gierszewski. (Members of this consortium did not officially comment on their participation.)

The third contender making it into the second round, according to VSquare’s source familiar with the bidding, is Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, founder of Gremi Media Group. He was a previously unreported bidder whose involvement came as a surprise. A representative of Gremi International declined to comment on the company’s investment plans.

While some foreign entities initially expressed interest in acquiring TVN, all remaining bidders in the second round are Polish. The French Canal+ Group, which operates a joint venture with TVN in Poland, was excluded from further proceedings, sources told VSquare. Another previously reported bidder, MFE-MediaForEurope, ultimately did not formally enter the process.

The estimated sale price of TVN is around €1 billion, making this one of the most significant media acquisitions in Poland in recent years. Given the channel’s longstanding role as a counterbalance to Law and Justice-aligned media, the outcome of this sale will have a lasting impact on Poland’s media landscape.