Austria's largest private broadcaster is up for sale

The nationwide private broadcaster ATV Plus is to get a new owner, and there is speculation about interested parties. Corresponding plans by the current owner, the Austrian bank Bawag, to sell its 42 percent stake in the station were confirmed to the Financial Times Deutschland. The reason is a strategic realignment of the bank. Both the RTL Group and the US investor Ronald Lauder are said to have expressed interest in the purchase. ATV Plus has been on air since June 2003 and is the only private company to hold a nationwide broadcasting license.