Babiš buys MAFRA

Businessman Andrej Babiš has bought MAFRA, the Czech media group that publishes the major dailies Mladá fronta Dnes and Lidové noviny. He bought it from Rheinisch-Bergische Verlagsgesellschaft; the German company confirmed the sale on Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but the businessman said he would not introduce any changes at MAFRA which would lead to layoffs, and said that he will not have a position in any decision-making bodies. The sale must still be cleared by the anti-monopoly office. Mr Babiš has political ambitions: he founded a party named ANO 2011 which aims to run in the next general election.

Author: Masha Volynsky