IN the past two weeks, the management of two national television stationsTV7 and Trans TVhad become tight-lipped, possibly because news had spread that the owners of the two television stations, Chairul Tanjung and Jacob Oetama, had signed an initial agreement for Trans TV to purchase TV7.

The transaction involves two big names: the Kompas-Gramedia Group (KKG), the media giant which owns TV7, and the Para Group, which owns Trans TV and Bank Mega.