* CME among several foreign bidders for TV Puls - source
* Bidder says Disney interested, but it denies pursuing Puls
* CME, Puls decline to comment
* CME shares rise as much as 3.4 pct in Prague
(Adds CME and Disney comments, updates shares)
By Adrian Krajewski and Chris Borowski
WARSAW, Aug 14 (Reuters) - TV group Central European Media Enterprises
<CETV.O><> is among the bidders for a stake in Polish broadcaster Puls
after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp <NWSA.O> pulled out last year, a source told
Reuters on Friday.
"CME is among the bidders in negotiations to buy a stake in TV Puls," said a
source close to the talks who asked not to be named.
CME, whose largest shareholder is Time Warner <TWX.N> after it bought a
31-percent stake earlier this year, declined to discuss its interest.
"As always, our policy is not to comment on speculations," said Romana
Tomasova, vice-president, corporate communications.
The Bermuda-based company is present in seven central and east European
countries, but has been absent from Poland, the region's largest economy, since
pulling out of broadcaster TVN <TVNN.WA> a decade ago after falling out with
local founders.
CME's shares rose as much as 3.4 percent in Prague trade and closed 1.7
percent higher. The stock fell 1.8 percent in New York after equity markets
retreated on disappointing U.S. data.
Dariusz Dabski, the head of Puls and its second-largest shareholder,
declined to confirm CME's interest. The station is controlled by the Franciscan
order.
"I can only confirm that we are in talks with (Polish media company) Point
Group (PMPG) <PEKP.WA>, which already revealed its participation, as well as
other companies, also foreign groups," Dabski told Reuters.
The head of PMPG told Reuters that CME and Walt Disney Co. <DIS.N>, may be
among parties interested in entering the Polish market with a controlling stake
in Puls.
But a Walt Disney representative in London said the group was not pursuing
Puls at the moment.
NEWS CORP'S SOURED INVESTMENT
News Corp invested more than $50 million in Puls only to give up its
35-percent stake last year when it failed to boost its weak ratings and take
market share from private stations TVN and Polsat, and the public broadcaster.
Poland has seen its advertising market shrink by an estimated 16 percent to
1.8 billion zlotys in the first half of the year due to the global crisis, but
its size and lack of large foreign players make it an attractive target for some
of them.
Some market watchers speculate that TVN may also soon be in play after it
dumped the son of one of the founders from the top post and replaced him with an
industry insider from Murdoch's media empire on Thursday. []
(Additional reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw and Jason Hovet in
Prague; editing by Simon Jessop and Rupert Winchester)
