18. 07. 2012

German media group reacts to controversy

Belgrade, July 18, 2012. (Tanjug, Beta) - German WAZ Media Group has said that the sale of its stake in the Belgrade-based Politika publishing house was legal and in line with the founding documents.

In a written statement sent on Wednesday to Tanjug, WAZ Media Group confirmed that it had sold its 50 percent stake in the Belgrade publishing house to East Media Group in accordance with the law and the founding documents.

By selling its stake, WAZ Media Group is consistently implementing its strategy of withdrawal from Serbia, announced in 2010, the statement reads.

Beta news agency reported today that Moscow-based East Media Group acquired its 50 percent ownership stake in the company for a total of EUR 4.9mn, and that the contract was signed on June 29.

The contract states that Politika A.D., which owns the remaining 50 percent in Politika Novine i Magazini (PNM), "did not use its right of first refusal".

Politika A.D. is "directly or indirectly" majority owned by the state, according to Beta.

APR: Registration of ownership transfer legal

The documentation for the registration of ownership transfer that Belgrade's Politika newspaper submitted to the Business Registers Agency (APR) was valid and the procedure was conducted in accordance with the law, the agency told Tanjug in connection with the information that Moscow-based East Media Group has bought a 50 percent stake in Politika.

"The registration of change of data in the APR begins with filing the registration form and required documentation, together with proof of payment. The statutory term for the change of data is five days," said the APR.

It often happens, however, that reports on changes in already registered businesses are registered on the same day, after which they are posted on the official website of the agency, according to the APR.

In this way, the agency responded to the public and press associations that have requested clarification on how the re-registration of ownership could have taken place "overnight."

Experts estimate that the sale of a 50 percent stake in the Politika Novine i Magazini company (Politika Newspapers and Magazines) was not conducted transparently.

The Politika A.D. joint-stock company, whose stocks are listed on the stock exchange and which has a 50 percent stake in its subsidiary enterprise in question, should have announced the possibility of changes in ownership equity, to allow other investors to participate in the purchase, experts say.

"The Politika A.D. joint-stock company (which is state-owned) was supposed to inform the public if it was offered anything based on its pre-emptive rights," foreign investment expert Milan Kovačević told Tanjug.

"The Politika A.D. joint-stock company had to know what was happening in the newspaper. It is strange how it all was kept secret and how we found out what happened all of a sudden. I suppose it was in Politika A.D. interests not to disclose any information until the whole procedure was finished," said Kovačević.

Nenad Grujančić, chief broker at Belgrade-based independent broker and dealer company Sinteza Invest Group, said that the sale of stakes was regulated in a detailed manner by the Law on Business Companies.

"The Company Law says that when one of the stakeholders wants to sell their stake, they should first offer it to existing stakeholders and in this case it was Politika A.D.," Grujančić explained.

"It would be best to see with Politika A.D. representatives if they got any such offer at all," said the stock market expert.

Stock market experts and other experts contacted by Tanjug indicate that the more details of what happened could be found out if the public had an insight into the founding documents of the Politika Novine i Magazini enterprise, as it precisely defines the relationships between the stakeholders.

The Serbian public knows very little about the new owner of a 50 percent of stake in Politika, and Russian business sites indicate that East Media Group was established in Moscow on January 29 this year and that its owner is Uroš Stefanović.