Germany's WAZ Selling Up in Macedonia

Photo by: Mpdus

“Negotiations are ongoing but they are not nearly finished”, head of MPM Srgjan Kerim told Macedonia's Alfa TV on Sunday.

Last week media reported that WAZ's three dailies, Dnevnik, Utrinski Vesnik and Vest, would soon pass into the hands of local businessmen.

The three dailies, which hold a considerable share of the newspaper market, are the only ones in the country owned by a big international media company and not by native moguls.

Kerim did not reveal who was involved in the ongoing talks. “I cannot tell you because I don’t have the consent [to do so] from the negotiating sides,” he said.

The WAZ group entered Macedonia in 2003 through MPM. At the time it was widely believed that WAZ's entry would result in a marked rise in the quality of the media in the country.

Reports of WAZ's pull-out plans come amid growing concerns about the level of media freedom in the country.

WAZ's strongest local competitors, a media group that owned three dailies and A1 TV, the country's most-watched television channel, was forced to close them all down this summer.

The closures were related to owner Velija Ramkovski's tax problems. The authorities say he owes the state millions in back taxes.

The media in question claimed they were deliberately targeted by the government of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski for their critical views. Ramkovski is currently on trial for alleged financial crimes.

WAZ's director Bodo Hombach last year announced that WAZ intended to withdraw from the Balkans.

That year, WAZ sold off some of its main newpapers in Romania and Bulgaria. In Serbia the company ran into conflict with the government, threatened to pull out but have not ceased operations.