New owner of Rustavi 2 announces sale of TV company

The new owner of Rustavi 2 Kiber Khalvashi, who was given 100 per cent of the company’s shares on July 18, is selling the broadcasting company, reports Rustavi 2.

• European Court upholds verdicts of Georgian courts on Rustavi 2 ownership case, says TV belongs to former owner

In the statement Khalvashi said that he is going to sell Rustavi 2 through a “transparent competition”.

He said that former director general of the TV company “practically used to robbed it”.

Today, the former director general of the TV company openly threatens to destroy the company he has cared for for seven years. It is clear to me, that he has been destroying the company from the very first day of the dispute and, in fact, he has already fulfilled his threats,” the statement reads.

Khalvashi said that Rustavi 2 is in a “catastrophic situation” due to the debts company faces and his financial ability is not enough to “pull the company out of a deep crisis”.

Khalvashi said that the only person he is not going to negotiate with is former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili. Photo: IPN.

Its credit debt is approaching 70,000,000 GEL, of which 27,000,000 GEL alone is owed to the state budget. Rustavi 2 is in debt to practically everyone - from water supply companies to an American exit polls company. The vast majority of overall debt has been accumulated over the last few years, during the period I started the dispute, and it is clear that everything happened knowingly…

Unfortunately, my financial ability is not enough to pull the company out of a deep crisis. Therefore, I would like to say openly and publicly that I am ready to talk to any stakeholder who will buy Rustavi 2, help it get out of the crisis and to become a successful company. Accordingly, I will recover the damage inflicted upon me by the company's deliberate bankruptcy”, read the statement.

Khalvashi said that the only person he is not going to negotiate with is former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, who in his words is “the former informal owner and manager of Rustavi 2”.

I decided to sell Rustavi 2 through a transparent competition to those who would pay the highest price. Taking the company’s severe financial crisis into account, the competition must be completed within a week”, said Khalvashi.

Meanwhile, another statement was released today regarding Rustavi 2, where Ia Kitsmarishvili, spouse of the company’s co-founder Erosi Kitsmarishvili said she filed a lawsuit to the Tbilisi City Court, requesting the TV company shares.

Kitsmarishvili calls on Khalvashi and a potential buyer not to take specific decision until the court trials are completed. Photo: IPN.

It is no secret that founders of Rustavi 2 were forced to give up the company shares. I, as the legal successor of Eros Kitsmarishvili, have every legal and moral rights to claim the share that belongs to Erosi. This demand has not arisen today, and Erosi started the dispute still in 2009. Erosi applied to Saakashvili’s court to return his shares, because he has been forced to give up these shares and was not paid. The money should have been paid by Kibar Khalvashi and his company Panorama, however it has not been paid yet”, Kitsmarishvili said.

Kitsmarishvili said that her claim is identical with Khalvashi’s demand, who applied to the court with the same request and the court satisfied it.

My request is identical and I am convinced that the unbiased court will take a decision in favour of me. I am speaking about 30 % of shares”, Kitsmarishvili said.

Kitsmarishvili calls on Khalvashi and a potential buyer not to take specific decision until the court trials are completed.