Russian Media Group
Russia
Central Federal District of the Russian Federation
Moscow
123298, 3rd Khoroshevskaya st., 12
Content |
Assets | Owners |
+ Russian Media Group (RMG) |
Owners
2016: Gosconcert acquired Russian Media Group on credit
At the beginning of 2016, the State Concern approved a loan of 3.5 billion rubles for the purchase of shares in the Russian Media Group. The network publication Газета.ru, citing a source, reports that Goskontsert plans to acquire a 78% stake in RMG from IFD Capital[1]
In accordance with the decision of the management of VTB Bank, a loan secured by shares and property of the borrower will be issued for a year. It is reported that the parties have not yet signed a loan agreement, the head of the "State Concern" Sergei Bunin suggested that the closure of the transaction will take place in the summer of 2016.
The remaining 22% of the shares remain in the ownership of former CEO Sergei Kozhevnikov, who was dismissed from his post in the summer of 2015 during a conflict with the main shareholder of IFD Capital.
The deal to buy out the Capital IFD package in the Russian Media Group holding was officially closed, RNS reported in October 2016, citing a source close to the RMG leadership. The information to the agency was also confirmed by the chairman of the board of directors of RMG, partner of Vladimir Kiselev Sergey Bunin.
"Legally, the deal was closed at the end of April," Sergei Bunin told RNS. The representative of IFD "Capital" declined to comment.
 | "The board and I personally have not received any confirmation of this transaction. If we have a new shareholder, it would be nice to meet with him in person, "said Sergei Kozhevnikov, co-founder, co-owner and member of the board of directors of RMG. |  |
There was still no official information about the closure of the transaction, but at the end of the year the board of directors of RMG included the first deputy chairman of VTB Vasily Titov and Kiselev's wife Elena Sever, and the head of the State Concern Sergei Bunin became the chairman. At the same time, the leadership of the media group changed - Roman Sarkisov was appointed general director, and he updated the team.
Aktivs
The Russian Media Group is a large radio holding in Russia, which includes:
- "Russian Radio" (2904 cities of coverage),
- Radio Monte Carlo (156 cities of coverage),
- "DFM" (918 cities of coverage),
- "Hit FM" (905 cities of reach),
- "Radio MAXIMUM" (386 cities of coverage),
- "Good Songs,"
- "Russian News Service/RSN,"
as well as the music channel RU TV and the advertising agency Gramophone.
Together with IFD Capital, it owns the muz.ru music portal (closed in November 2015).
Performance indicators
2011
The group's reporting in the SPARK-Interfax database dates back to 2011: then RMG received 1.2 billion rubles. revenue and 609.4 million rubles. net profit.
The value of RMG assets at the end of 2014 amounted to 871.23 million rubles.
2015
For 2015, only one radio station in the holding makes a profit - Russian Radio, which makes up most of the cost of the entire media group, says Yegor Altman, chairman of the board of directors of the Hidalgo advertising agency. The rest of the holding's radio stations have no profit, they have an insignificant audience, he points out.
According to TNS, the daily audience of Russian Radio in Russia amounted to 9.2 million people in October 2014 - March 2015, in Moscow - 1 million people in April - June 2015. Russian Radio is in 2nd place in terms of audience in Moscow and in 4th place in Russia. In terms of audience, "Russian Radio" has reached its ceiling, gradually its revenue is falling and there is no growth potential, Altman believes. A source in the advertising market estimates RMG's share in the radio advertising market in Moscow at 10-12%.
In terms of revenue, RMG is in 3rd place among Russian media holdings (the other two are EMG and VKPM, part of Gazprom-Media), says Altman. True, he did not evaluate the revenue of the holding in absolute terms. In the 1990s, RMG had a good market position, but then other holdings began to acquire new radio stations and expand formats. Now RMG has nowhere to grow, at least in Moscow, where the market is already divided, he adds.
History
2023: Radio launch in friendly countries
The Russian Media Group (RMG, owns , among other things, the radio stations Russian Radio, Monte Carlo and Maximum, RU.TV) announced the launch of digital radio in friendly countries. The company also analyzes the markets for possible FM broadcasting . This was reported in mid-September 2023 by RIA Novosti with reference to the managing director of the media group Dmitry Mednikov.
| | Digitally - certainly, FM - there will be a long conversation... Of course, there is an intention, but this, obviously, is a matter of expertise and joint work, "Mednikov said, answering a question about plans to distribute RMG broadcasting in friendly countries. | |
Mednikov recalled that by mid-September 2023 , the launch of Asian music stations is underway. In July 2023 , RMG launched two online streams of African music to the Russia-Africa forum.
| | It is of a very high level and is gradually gaining popularity, "he stressed. | |
According to Mednikov, by mid-September 203, the organization of humanitarian projects, joint festivals, work in the areas of socio-cultural cooperation with representatives of friendly countries are also being discussed.[2]
| | For example, helping hearing-impaired children in rehabilitation. Once they undergo appropriate medical procedures, they require cultural rehabilitation. And now we are discussing work with a number of friendly countries with the FMBA (Federal Biomedical Agency). Well, in close contact with their embassies, missions, companies, cultural centers, and so on, "Mednikov said. | |
2015
Closing the service Muz.ru
In November 2015, the owner of the online music store Muz.ru IFD-Capital decided to close the project due to high unprofitability.
Management admitted that in recent years the service brought only losses - several tens of millions of rubles a year. Management does not admit its mistakes in the fight against Amazon, iTunes and Google Play Music, hoping that pirates are to blame. " However, this is not the case, since the listed stores, including Yandex.Music, from when they show a small, but growth in net profit by year.
| | "At launch, high hopes were pinned on the fight against piracy. The market is large and promising, but legal services cannot compete with pirates. The level of piracy in music in 2015 decreased slightly, while the costs of licensing content remain high in the face of limited solvent demand and high competition among legal resources, "Konstantin Bogdanov, general director of Муз.ру CJSC, commented to MIA Muzyka. | |
He also added that the service does not close completely, but is preserved until the best times, designated as 2017-2018.
Musicians ask Putin to prevent the sale of RMG to the State Concern
On July 28, 2015, it became known that representatives of the music industry sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin asking him to prevent a "dubious deal" to sell the Russian Media Group (RMG) radio holding FSUE Gosconcert.
"The signatoriesare asking the president to" prevent the implementation of a dubious transaction "for the sale of RMG FSUE Goskontsert, as it may lead to the impossibility of cooperation with radio stations and TV channels of the holding" for most representatives of the music industry, "writes Kommersant, who managed to get acquainted with the appeal.
The newspaper clarifies that, among the signatories - Joseph Kobzon, Stas Mikhailov, Grigory Leps, Igor Krutoy, Joseph Prigozhin, Philip Kirkorov, Yana Rudkovskaya, Zurab Tsereteli, Viktor Drobysh, Maxim Fadeev, Dima Bilan, Alexandra Pakhmutova, Stas Piekha, Timati, Anna Netrebko, Nikolai Baskov and other artists and producers.
The authenticity of the letter to Kommersant was confirmed by two interlocutors familiar with the situation, including one of the signatories.
According to one of them, the letter was handed over to the president a few days ago.
The publication notes that the letter of producers and performers says that the declared price of RMG is three times lower than the market price, which raises doubts about the transparency of the transaction.
"Potential buyers are trying to seize the holding with the help of slander and administrative pressure on shareholders and RMG management," follows from an appeal to the president.
As Kommersant emphasizes, the authors of the letter are also afraid of a change in management of RMG, which, in their opinion, will entail "negative consequences for the development of the music business as a whole."
Meanwhile, the publication reminds that RMG is managed by CEO Sergei Kozhevnikov, who owns 22%.
"He (Kozhevnikov - IF) is not offered a favorable price and is even threatened," Kozhevnikov's acquaintance said in an interview with the newspaper.
In turn, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Kommersant that "in this case, the president cannot make any decisions both about making such a deal and about terminating it."
"RMG has owners, and you need to contact them with such letters," he said.
Meanwhile, V. Kiselev told the publication that he wants to "restore order" so that "the same artists who can pay for rotations do not spin on the radio."
According to him, at four stations RMG is dominated by Western music.
"We wantRussian artists to play there," he added.
FAS approved the application for the purchase of the company "State Concern"
In July 2015, it became known that the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) approved the application of FSUE Gosconcert for the acquisition of 100% of the Russian Media Group (RMG), Marina Saranskaya, deputy head of the advertising and unfair competition control department of the FAS, told Vedomosti. Earlier, IFD Capital, one of the shareholders of RMG, reported that the shareholders "reached an agreement in principle" on the sale of a stake in RMG to the State Concern[3] of[3].
Earlier, the message of the IFD "Capital" cited the words of the general director of "State Concern" Sergei Bunin, dedicated to this deal. He said that "professional teams of the Russian Media Group and the State Concert media holding will be able to create effective synergy to achieve even greater results and expand creative horizons."
Vladimir Kiselev and the head of the Capital IFD Olga Plaksina proposed in 2015 to the Russian authorities to create a patriotic music media holding on the basis of the RMG and FSUE Gosconcert.
Market participants interviewed by Vedomosti said that this deal is a complete surprise for them: rumors about the possible sale of RMG have been circulating for a long time, but no one expected to see the state-owned company as a buyer. Moreover, it is not clear where FSUE will find funds for this transaction. Several sources in the music market have heard that Goskontsert will pay $120-150 million for RMG, or 6.8-8.5 billion rubles. at the Central Bank rate. For comparison: the Siberian Business Union in 2012 bought the European Media Group (EMG) for more than $160 million. Although EMG sells advertising more efficiently than RMG, says a source in a large media holding.
Information from the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Goskontsert" in the Ministry of Culture of Russia on the planned purchase of the media group was not received, the Ministry of Culture told Vedomosti. A person close to the department recalled that FSUEs do not receive allocations from the budget and can only rely on their own funds.
Earlier, a Vedomosti source close to RMG, as well as employees of several music companies, claimed that Vladimir Kiselev, producer of VIA Zemlyanye and the Russkie group, former head of the Kremlin State Unitary Enterprise and head of the Federation Foundation, would become the buyer of RMG. Kiselev, together with Bunin from Goskontsert, are the founders of Kremlin International LLC. They are also related to several other companies.
2009: Economic Crisis and Restructuring
The Russian media group is restructuring its assets to avoid questions from tax officials and shareholders. According to the Federal Service for Financial Markets, CJSC Russian News Service and CJSC Music One are closing.
"We are cleaning the company from a situation where there could be some questions for it. It should be transparent from the point of view of auditors, tax authorities, shareholders, "says Sergei Kozhevnikov, general director of the Russian Media Group.
"Many assets, having the same or approximately the same shareholders, were not included in the structure of the media group. Now there is a merger within the company. Some companies technologically disappear and close, everything goes under a single management with a single board of directors, "explains Sergey Kozhevnikov restructuring assets.
For 2009, the main owners of RMG were top managers of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov and Leonid Fedun. Through Management Center Management, Capital Investments CJSC and Media Invest CJSC, they control 78% of RMG shares. 22% of RMG belongs to Sergey Kozhevnikov.
According to Sergei Kozhevnikov, since the beginning of 2009, the situation in the advertising market has "fundamentally changed." Advertisers switched from annual planning to quarterly.
"Every new quarter is like a new year," he laments. "Again, negotiations with advertisers and a complete misunderstanding of what will happen in six months."
At the end of 2008, RMG predicted a 40% fall in the advertising market. "In different directions, we see him," says Sergey Kozhevnikov. According to data published by the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia, the volume of radio advertising in the first quarter of 2009 decreased by 38%. The rate of decline in the outdoor and print media advertising market turned out to be approximately the same. The Internet is falling slower than others: there is 15% less advertising there, but Sergei Kozhevnikov is sure that this is just the beginning.
"TheInternet bubble confirms itself. Growth has slowed down, and so far no one has shown any miscalculations about the adequacy of advertising on the Internet, especially banner advertising, "he says. Banner advertising, according to Sergei Kozhevnikov, "in the near future it will crash to a minimum." "Its effectiveness, according to our analytics, is not too great," he notes.
The RMG responded to the crisis by cutting salaries. According to their level, the company returned to the situation three years ago, estimates Sergey Kozhevnikov. "Everything was voluntary, everyone understood: it's better than mass cuts," he says.
The top manager said that the media group has to cut costs, but unlike the situation on television, where the number of produced series and expensive programs decreases, the crisis has practically not affected the content of radio stations.
"Radiowas originally an inexpensive product. At least 40% of television companies' expenses are content costs, on the radio these figures are about 10%. It is very impossible to save money here, "he explains.
Sergei Kozhevnikov has no doubt that the entrepreneurs who sold the last free Moscow FM frequencies in mid-2008 went out of business on time. "They sold at their peak, sold perfectly. In the next two to three years, such prices will not return, "he says.
It is difficult to recoup the money invested in the purchase of frequencies. "The latest transactions in Moscow reached $14 − 15 million, and so far these stations have not been launched. People froze money for a year just before the crisis. If someone went on the air at the level of technical broadcasting, then there is no need to talk about the return of this $15 million, "says Sergei Kozhevnikov. He is convinced that investors who entered the market at the peak understand the inexpediency of maintaining unprofitable assets and will try to get rid of them even with a loss for themselves.
New deals could be struck in the fall. "It will be a critical time when you can't stand it anymore. It will be necessary to close the year, and the indicators will be purely negative. Buyers of big money will not offer, but sellers will moderate their appetites and will sell much cheaper, "says Sergey Kozhevnikov. RMG, having launched the Good Songs station for men over 45 years old, "closed the product line" and does not plan to acquire frequencies of the Moscow FM band.
The owners of RMG, top managers of LUKOIL Vagit Alekperov and Leonid Fedun, through the IFD Capital group, act as holders of the debt of the RBC media holding. The acquisition of control over RBC by RMG shareholders would give synergy to media assets, Sergei Kozhevnikov believes: information content is more in demand during the crisis.
In the spring, RMG closed a bond loan for 500 million rubles. and loans issued on the security of shares. "Since the discount rate is too high and the yield has certainly decreased, we closed the loans so as not to have a debt burden on the companies. Now the company is not on bail and is clean of all obligations, "he assures[4]
2008: Tax officials conduct office searches
RMG had problems with tax authorities in the summer of 2008. Then searches were carried out in the office of the RMG, which briefly interrupted the broadcasting of the RSN station. Tax services suspected the Gramophone advertising agency, which is part of the media group, of tax evasion.
Notes
- ↑ media: VTB approved a loan of 3.5 billion rubles for the purchase of the Russian Media Group by Goskontsert.
- ↑ "Russian Media Group" will launch digital broadcasting in friendly countries
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 [http://www.vedomosti.ru/technology/articles/2015/07/21/601516-fas-odobrila-prodazhu-russkoi-mediagruppi-goskontsertu , the FAS approved the application
- ↑ Sergei Kozhevnikov: purges in the Russian Media Group.
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