Bulgaria's Peevski 'Withdrawing' from TV Station Deal

Controversial lawmaker and alleged media mogul Delyan Peevski has said he is pulling out of the acquisition of Kanal 3, a cable broadcaster that had been linked to him for more than half a year.

Unofficially Peevski was, until recently, thought to wield influence over certain media outlets through the New Bulgarian Media Group Holding AD, which was said to be controlled by his mother. Last year, however, the MP announced he would shed more light on his involvement in the media group which brings together a number of mass-circulation newspapers.

"I hereby state that, despite the allowance, and considering my already declared intention to halt my future participation in [forthcoming] Bulgarian business projects, the New Bulgarian Media Group Holding AD renounces the finalization of an acquisition deal for Kanal 3," his statement to Bulgarian media outlets reads.

Peevski earlier in March said he would not be involved in future business projects, weeks after declaring he was selling his stake in Bulgarian tobacco holding Bulgartabac.

Kanal 3, alongside a number of other media outlets, has been increasingly linked to Peevski, in a list that, his political opponents and some Bulgarian media argue, includes televisions, radio stations, websites, and newspapers that he controls indirectly.

In his Monday statement, Peevski assures, "as regards continuous speculation hurled by bought competitors and [his] political opponents about "Peevski's media and concentration on the media market," that the New Bulgarian Media Holding only includes several newspapers such as Monitor, Telegraf, Politika Dnes, and Meridian Match.

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