Mladá Fronta not interested in Economia publisher deal

The Czech publisher Mladá Fronta denied on Sunday any interest in buying a majority share in Economia, a rival publisher which publishes the respected daily Hospodářské noviny. Mladá Fronta also denied that they were backed by Russian capital. The Economia publishing house, owned by Germany’s Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt, is on sale and Mladá Fronta was considered a top candidate for the deal. The German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said that Russian capital could be behind Mladá Fronta and the deal could lead to the “Ukrainization” of the Czech media environment.