Final Word from Tuesday, December 14, 2004
The Economist estimated that Russia could be the No. 3 foreign investor in Central Europe, after Germany and the Netherlands, although many of its investments are hidden in shell companies and third countries. There has long been speculation among well-informed people in Prague that PPF has Russian backers, although there's no proof, and no reason to care much. Except that Czechs aren't wild about the Russians. PPF's announced sale yesterday of TV Nova to CME is fascinating in and of itself, but PPF's plans to take 14% in Nasdaq-listed CME are also important. CME refused to comment on its new partner other than to say that it did careful due diligence. The required U.S. SEC filings in coming months will make interesting reading. They could either squash rumors that PPF has a Russian link, or they could be PPF's coming-out party. [Central European Media Enterprises NASDAQ CETV Czech Republic Petr Kellner]