Hungarian Watchdog Launches Probe Into Indamedia’s Ringier Hungary Acquisition
Overview of the Indamedia-Ringier Hungary Transaction and Regulatory Response
Background of the Acquisition
BUDAPEST, May 5 (Reuters) - Hungary's competition watchdog GVH has launched a probe into Hungarian media group Indamedia Network's 2025 purchase of Ringier Hungary's assets in order to 'clear up some controversies' surrounding the transaction, it said on Tuesday.
Indamedia, a Hungarian media group which is 50% owned by a businessman close to outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government, bought a portfolio from Ringier which includes Hungary's main tabloid newspaper, Blikk, late last year.
The deal was announced just months before the April 12 election where centre-right candidate Peter Magyar's party won with a landslide, ending nationalist Orban's 16-year rule.
Political Context and Media Control
Magyar said at the time that the deal represented an attempt by Orban to cement his control over Hungary's media outlets.
Tight control of the media has helped Orban, who has transformed Hungary's media landscape during his government, to win three elections in a row.
Regulatory and Legal Considerations
The competition authority said in a statement on Tuesday that the combined annual net revenue of the two parties in the Indamedia-Ringier deal did not reach 20 billion forints ($64.3 million), which means that there was no need to officially report it to the GVH.
It also said that even though it had a legal mandate to investigate smaller mergers, based on the information available last year "it was not warranted for the GVH to launch a probe."
New Information and Investigation Launch
However, the GVH said that on March 2 it received new data and information and that "the controversies around the transaction can only be satisfactorily cleared up in a competition authority probe." It gave no details of the new information received in March.
Reactions and Implications
Statements from Political Leaders
Magyar, who will take his oath of office on Saturday, has pledged to restore press freedoms after taking office. He also said his government would pass a new media law and create a new media authority.
Expert Opinions and European Oversight
The transaction should have been examined by Hungarian authorities according to the European Media Freedom Act, which was in effect last year when Indamedia bought Ringier, Agnes Urban, an expert at Mertek Media Monitor, told Reuters.
"The GVH said it was notified of the need to look into this deal. They got the notification in March, but they only decided to look into it now," she said.
"It is highly likely that the election result influenced their decision," she added.
European Board for Media Services Assessment
The European Board for Media Services, an independent advisory group, has examined the deal and on April 9 it issued an opinion in which it said "the assessed concentration is likely to have a negative impact on media pluralism and editorial independence in the relevant media market."($1 = 310.7500 forints)
(Reporting by Krisztina Than and Anita KomuvesEdiitng by Keith Weir)
