Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Investments, Latvia, Markets and Companies, Mergers and take-overs

Schibsted media concern-owned Eesti Meedia bought Latvian portal tvnet.lv, which marks the emergence of the Latvian front in the fights over the leading role in the Baltics with Hans H. Luik-managed Ekspress Grupp.

Eesti Meedia board member Toomas Issak, who is responsible for the media group’s activities in Latvia and Lithuania, said that the price of acquiring all shares of tvnet.lv will not be revealed.

Eesti Meedia needed to get a part of Latvian online media because among all operating spheres, Ekspress Grupp has been more successful than Eesti Meedia in web media, mainly because Ekspress Grupp-owned Delfi has successfully managed to operate in all three Baltic states, Eesti Meedia board member Meelis Luht said.

Last year in the three biggest operating branches, printed media, TV and printing industry, Eesti Meedia had a turnover in each by around 10 million EUR bigger than Ekspress Grupp but in web media the competitor was better. Ekspress Grupp’s online-media turnover was last year 7.8 million EUR, Eesti Meedia’s 3.8 million. Ekspress Grupp’s web turnover came from Baltic states and Ukraine, Eesti Meedia’s just from Estonia and Lithuania.

Luht said that thus the concern had no other choice than to buy the best portal in Latvia available.

Issak said that Eesti Meedia aims to develop tvnet.lv into Latvia’s biggest news portal.