EBRD buys stake in WAZ Media Group’s Eastern European Operations

TIRANA, April 27 – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said last week it was investing up to 40 million euro for a stake in the eastern European operations of Germany’s WAZ Media Group.
“The joint aim is to support the further development of politically and economically independent media in the region,” the bank said in a statement, without elaborating on the value of the stake.
WAZ Media Group, a major German media house, plans further expansion on the media industry of Eastern Europe, the statement added.
The EBRD will initially invest 20 million euro for a stake in Ost Holding, the Vienna-based company which manages the group’s media interests in Eastern Europe.
A further 20 million euro is being reserved for future capital increases, the EBRD said.
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung Medien Gruppe is active in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Albania, Russia and Macedonia.
The media group has 34 daily newspapers with a circulation of over 2.5 million copies, 18 weekly newspapers and 176 popular magazines.