Final Word from Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Nasdaq-listed CME's announcement yesterday that it plans a dual listing on the Prague Stock Exchange this month is good news for the Czech capital markets. But before Czechs join the craze that has caused CME's shares to skyrocket since Ronald Lauder took over TV Nova, they should consider two factors. First, CME won't be legally assured of full control of the all-important Nova broadcast license until title changes at Vilja a.s. and CET 21 s.r.o. are registered. Czech courts are unpredictable, and CME's SEC filings are full of caveats in this respect. Second, TV Prima will go up for sale later this year (or so predicts CEO Petr Dvořák of TV Nova). If RTL or some other world-class player takes over Prima, the CR could see real competition on the TV market for the first time ever. Nova's position has been unassailable so far, but past performance is no guarantee of future results. [Czech Republic Central European Media Enterprises CETV Securities and Exchange Commission Bertelsmann SPAD television]