Pro7Sat1 vetoes Fonyóʼs purchase of TV2
German media giant Pro7Sat1, the former owner of Hungary’s second largest commercial channel TV2 prior to it being sold to Zsolt Simon and Yvonne Dederick, yesterday filed an objection with Hungary’s company court against Károly Fonyó’s takeover of the TV2 group, Hungarian online dailies origo.hu and index.hu reported yesterday.
A few hours after Hungarian government commissioner for the film industry Andrew G. Vajna announced his purchase of the channel from Simon and Dederick on October 15, Fonyó, who is a business associate of Lajos Simicska, announced he had already purchased the channel on October 13. Fonyó reportedly used a pre-purchase option that his firm Megapolis Media had acquired in 2013 when Simon and Dederick signed a declaration that they would transfer some rights to Fonyó’s company.
Pro7Sat1 claims that for such a procedure to take place, the German firm’s approval would have been required as it had assigned a veto right when it extended a loan to buyers Simon and Dederick. The company added that it is not planning to waive its veto right over the sale of TV2, neither now nor in the future, Hungarian daily Népszabadság said.
Scandal surrounding the selling of TV2 began in mid-October, when Vajna announced that he would be buying the channel. Critics claim that Vajna will use the channel to air ruling Fidesz-friendly material, charges which he denied in an interview with index.hu. Commenting on the fight over ownership, he said he does not know who is the actual owner, and that “anything could happen”.
Companies Spending Less on Advertising
Bulgaria's Household Income, Spending Rise 20% in 2023
Spar Magyarország Revenue Climbs Close to 16% in 2023
Hungary Launches HUF 15 bln Tourism Sector Support Program
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
