The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has permitted GDF Media Limited (Cyprus), which belongs to businessman Dmytro Firtash, to gain control over the Inter Media Group Limited, reads a report of the committee.

The decision will give the buyer over 50% of the votes in the management body of the company.

As reported, referring to the press service of Inter on February 1, 2013, K.H. Media Limited, owned by former First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, has sold its 100% stake in Inter Media Group Limited for $2.5 billion to GDF Media Limited company, owned by Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash.

It was expected that GDF Media Limited will gain control over the media group after it receives approval from the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.

On February 7, 2012, it was known that the new shareholders of Inter Media Group Limited, uniting Inter TV Channel and up to ten other channels, will be the companies owned by businessman Dmytro Firtash and Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Serhiy Liovochkin.

Inter Media Group includes the TV channels of Inter, Inter+, NTN, K1, K2, Enter, Enter-Film, Mega, MTV Ukraine, and other production and marketing companies.

Inter TV Channel is the most popular channel (with a share of 14-16% over the recent months.) Its net income in 2011 increased by 30.9%, to UAH 744.77 million, almost returning to the level of the pre-crisis year of 2008. Its net loss last year fell by 29.5%, to UAH 137.63 million.

In the first half of 2012, the TV channel saw net income of UAH 446.840 million and a net loss of UAH 95.34 million.