U.S. businessman Mikayel Israyelyan has bought a majority stake in New York-based Russian-language television network RTVI from its Russian owner and plans to expand it in the United States, RTVI said today, reports Reuters.

The network was owned by Ruslan Sokolov since 2012 and Israyelyan, an entertainment industry entrepreneur and chief executive of the Muse Lifestyle Group, has bought Sokolov’s entire stake, the spokesman said.

“There are nearly 7 million Russian-speaking people living in the United States today, who are interested in original high-quality content in their native language,” Israyelyan, who has Armenian heritage, said in a statement.

Mikayel Israyelyan is an entrepreneur and CEO of Muse Lifestyle Group.