GDF Media Limited and Inter Media Group Limited have acquired minority interests in private joint-stock company Inter TV Channel, through 29% of Inter shares in Russia's Channel One, and a 10% stake in Ukraine's Pegas Television.

"So now 100% of Inter shares are fully consolidated and managed by the companies owned by Dmytro Firtash (majority stake) and Serhiy Liovochkin (minority stake)," reads a report from Group DF, which incorporates Firtash assets.

Channel One's 29% of shares were purchased for $100 million, which was their market price, according to the press release.

Group DF Managing Director Borys Krasniansky said that the deal on acquiring the 29% stake from Channel One had been planned for some time, and that it wasn't a top priority for the group.

"Channel One did not participate in the management of the Inter TV channel… We had to accelerate the deal and buy the stake due to the political pressure on the media group by certain representatives of power," Krasniansky said.

"Actually we had to buy the minority stake from Channel One although from the point of business the deal was, to put it mildly, of no priority for us in the current economic situation," he added.

He said that Inter was and remains an independent channel. Also, the owners plan to expand social and political broadcasting and to develop the group's channels, Krasniansky said.

Inter Mediа Group Ltd. includes Inter, Inter+, NTN, K1, K2, Enter, Enter-Film, Mega, MTV Ukraine television channels, and other companies in the production and marketing sector.