WARSAW, Jan 11 (Reuters) - TVN, Eastern Europe's largest listed broadcaster, made and later withdrew an offer for smaller rival TV Puls, which analysts said may have been a way to block a foreign competitor from entering Poland.
'TVN made an offer for TV Puls, but withdrew it,' TVN's Karol Smolag said. 'At this moment no talks are being held.'
He did not elaborate, but a source close to the discussions said TVN was interested in a controlling stake.
Shares in TVN rose 1.2 percent by 1100 GMT versus a 1.1 percent rise in Warsaw's main index.
TV Puls, which has been on the block since Rupert Murdoch's News Corp pulled out in 2008, is controlled by its chief executive Dariusz Dabski, who owns a 75-percent stake.
Dabski declined to comment.
The purchase would boost the number of households reached by TVN and give it an additional outlet for programming as well as a stronger position ahead of a switch to digital broadcasting.
Analysts said the reason might be more pragmatic.
'It's likely that this is all about blocking competition, especially from abroad, instead of moving to expand,' said Piotr Grzybowski, analyst at BRE Bank brokerage.
In August, a source told Reuters that TV group Central European Media Enterprises, whose largest shareholder is Time Warner, was among bidders for Puls.
News Corp invested more than $50 million in TV Puls only to give up its 35-percent stake after it failed to boost its weak ratings and take market share from TVN, privately held Polsat and the public broadcaster.
(Reporting by Adrian Krajewski and Agnieszka Barteczko, writing by Chris Borowski; editing by Gareth Jones and Hans Peters) Keywords: TVN/ (chris.borowski@reuters.com; +48 22 653 9712; Reuters Messaging: chris.borowski.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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