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Government body says businessman Ivan Savvidis is next in line for a TV licence

The General Secretariat of Information and Communication, the government body running the TV licensing procedure, said on Monday it is passing on the fourth TV license to the next runner up of the tender held earlier in September, after one of the winners announced he was unable to meet the payment deadline for the first installment.

Businessman Ioannis Kalogritsas, one of the initial four successful bidders announced that he would withdraw from the next stage in the process "for reasons that everyone is aware of." The company's bid and the provenance of its funds had come under intense media scrutiny in the weeks following the auction.
The temporary winner is Greek-Russian businessman Ivan Savvidis with his company “DIMERA Media Investments Ltd” who submitted a bid totaling 61,500,000 euros. According to the General Secretariat, the relevant audit committee will assess the financial situation of DIMERA and will then give the company a 15-day deadline to pay the first installment of the bid.