Lőrinc Mészáros officially takes control of Konzum
Hungaryʼs Competition Office (GVH) said Thursday it has approved the takeover of sole direct control of fund manager Konzum Investment Fund Management by investor Lőrinc Mészáros, and consequently sole indirect control of holding company Opus.
The GVH said it had launched a review of the takeover of Konzum Investment Fund Management Zrt. after being notified by Mészáros, according to national news agency MTI.
In a review of the possible impact on competition on local advertising markets, the GVH determined that the resulting concentration of local radio and printed media in the area around Lake Balaton and in Bács-Kiskun County could impact competition negatively.
To avoid this, Mészáros sold the companies that operate PartFM and Gong Radio, the office said. After this, overlapping and connected activities of Konzum and Opus, in advertising, real estate, commercial accommodation and the construction industry, posed no further competition problems as their scale was not of a degree that would hurt competition, the GVH added.
The competition office noted that it had approached the Media Council of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) in the course of the review, but the council had dropped its involvement in the procedure, saying the matter was outside the scope of its authority.
Mészáros is the mayor of Prime Ministerʼs Viktor Orbán’s home village of Felcsút. In the years since Fidesz came to power in 2010, he has risen from a relatively humble financial position to become a billionaire investor.
Last year, Opus also made several television acquisitions.
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