EM.TV/Kirch to Hold Six SLEC Supervisory Seats

German media company EM.TV & Merchandising said on Monday it and partner Kirch will appoint six of the eight members of the supervisory board of SLEC, the firm which holds the commercial rights to Formula One motor racing.

EM.TV said in a statement the Bambino Trust, controlled by racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone, would appoint the other two members of SLEC's supervisory board.

Marion Moormann, a spokeswoman at EM.TV, said the media company and the Bambino Trust previously held four seats each on the board. The board reshuffle follows last week's announcement by EM.TV that it and Kirch had raised their stake in SLEC to 75 percent.

EM.TV said its Chief Executive Thomas Haffa, Kirch deputy chief Dieter Hahn, Etienne De Villiers, the ex-director of Walt Disney International Europe , and Walter Thoma, ex-chief of Philip Morris' European operations, would join SLEC's controlling body.

Moormann said that Nickolaus Becker, who left EM.TV as its supervisory board chairman in February amid differences on Kirch's acquisition of a 16.7 percent stake in the company, and media entrepreneur Herbert Kloiber would leave SLEC's supervisory board on EM.TV's behalf. EM.TV and Kirch will appoint two other board member at SLEC in the upcoming days, the Munich-based children television programmes distributor said.

The company also said the chairman of the controlling body would be elected later by the members.