LONDON – Dragan Šolak, former Chairman of the Advisory Board of United Group (UG), and Viktoria Boklag, former CEO of UG, today initiated legal proceedings through the companies Gerrard Enterprises LLC and Cable Management Company Ltd against three entities controlled by BC Partners, Nova.rs reports.
According to the statement, the aim of the proceedings is to stop the sale of United Group’s media business, which is allegedly being carried out in breach of the Shareholders’ Agreement.
“The Shareholders’ Agreement grants Mr. Šolak and Ms. Boklag contractual consent rights over any material change in the nature of United Group’s business. Despite this, BC Partners has launched the sale process of United Media, which encompasses the entirety of United Group’s media segment, without their knowledge, approval or consent,” the statement carried by Nova.rs said.
United Media, the statement further noted, operates around 120 media outlets and represents a key part of United Group’s integrated telecommunications and media model, contributing to customer acquisition and retention, as well as strengthening the regional brand.
“Its sale would fundamentally transform United Group from an integrated media and telecommunications leader into a predominantly telecommunications company, thereby destroying the unique value of its bundled service offering across Southeast Europe. Some of the key media brands within United Media’s portfolio include the national broadcasters Nova TV Bulgaria and Nova TV Croatia, Adria News Network (ANN), as well as numerous other popular media platforms.”
“I was deeply concerned when I read reports that BC Partners intends to sell the last remaining editorially independent media outlets in Serbia to Alpac Capital. The sale of United Media would destroy the integrated telecommunications and media model that has been built over the years and hand over some of the last remaining independent media outlets in Serbia to a buyer with a troubling track record regarding media freedoms,” Šolak said.
He added that he had not been informed about the sale of United Media or the agreement with Alpac.
“At no point did BC Partners seek, nor did it obtain, my consent. I will take all necessary steps, including legal action, to ensure that my rights under the Shareholders’ Agreement are fully respected and enforced,” Šolak said.
Nova.rs recalls that the statement by the former UG executives comes after a series of media reports concerning the finalisation of the sale of media outlets gathered under the Adria News Network.
As reported by Raskrikavanje, a draft agreement between United Group and the Luxembourg-based fund European Future Media Investments, backed by the Portuguese investment group Alpac Capital, has already been implemented.
According to the final version of the contract, which has not yet been signed, the fund will pay only 30 million euros for several television and other media outlets in the region, including N1, Nova S in Serbia, as well as media in Montenegro, Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was reported by Raskrikavanje.rs.
The article notes that two Luxembourg-based companies agreed to sell Adria News company, which manages regional network of N1 and Nova, but also a number of affiliated companies in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro.
The final version of the purchase agreement has not yet been signed, but its details raise many questions, Raskrikavanje states.
The contract names Pedro Vargas David and Afonso Guerra as the customer’s contact persons. Pedro Vargas David is known to the public as the CEO of Alpac Capital, which became a major owner of Euronews channel, a European news channel that broadcasts programming in more than 12 languages.
The name of Pedro Vargas Davis has often been associated with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in foreign media. Research by the Hungarian portal Direkt36, in cooperation with France’s Le Monde and Portugal’s Express, showed that the purchase of Euronews was partly financed by Hungarian state capital, but also by companies close to Viktor Orbán’s propaganda machine.
