MAY 8, 2003

EM.TV dumps The Muppets

EM.TV, the German media company - which until recently owned part of the Formula One group of companies - is still trying to recover from its disastrous involvement in the sport and has now decided to sell the Jim Henson Company back to the Henson Family for $89m. The Munich-based company paid $680m when it bought the business in February 2000. The firm is to use the money to complete its purchase of Junior TV and consolidate its position in the German media markets. The deal sent EM.TV shares up 12% on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

The company has sold its F1 shares to the banks involved in F1 in the last few months and is now out of F1 completely.