Eurofinance bank has moved into the St. Petersburg television market, purchasing a 23.34-percent stake in local media outlet Petersburg Television

At an auction for the stake that was held by the Leningrad Oblast Property Committee on Friday, the Eurofinance Group, a subsidiary of the bank by the same name bought the stake for 65 million rubles ($1.98 million) - 2 million rubles higher than the starting price. The other bidder for the stake was Politeks, a company that is listed in the city directory at the same address as the St. Petersburg office of Eurofinance. Eurofinance Vice President Andrei Galiyev said that the decision behind the purchase of the minority stake in Petersburg Television was based on the banks interest in becoming involved in the local market. He also said that the bank was also interested in acquiring interests in the media sector in other regions. Galiyev said that it was possible that the bank would later try to increase its presence on the St. Petersburg media market, including in the size of its stake in TRK Petersburg. Acting Governor Alexander Beglov said that the city had not received an offer from the bank to buy any additional shares in the station and that the city presently has no plans to sell any of its shares.