MAY 13, 2002

Another Kirch company about to go

RUPERT MURDOCH's BSkyB has exercised its option to sell its 22% stake in the insolvent Kirch PayTV company and this looks likely to push Taurus Holding, Kirch PayTV's parent company into insolvency. The move appears to be designed to speed up the collapse of the empire so that the spoils can be divided up amongst the creditors. BSkyB was not expecting to get any money from the option, which is worth $1.2bn.

The only Kirch company which will be left standing in that case would be Kirch Beteiligung, which owns the shares of SLEC, the holding company of the Formula One group. Although this is still operating the shares are in effect now controlled by banks.