Pearson, Dow Jones Sell Stakes In Russian Paper
November 23 2015 - 3:02AM
Dow Jones News
(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/23/15)
By Lukas I. Alpert
Pearson PLC and News Corp's Dow Jones & Co., the owner of
The Wall Street Journal, said Friday that they will sell their
stakes in the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti.
The move by the companies to divest their holdings was driven by
the passage of a Russian law last year that limits the size of a
stake a foreign company may hold in a Russian media company to no
more than 20%. The law goes into effect on Jan. 1, and the
companies said the deal is expected to close before then.
Both Dow Jones and Pearson hold 33.3% stakes in Vedomosti.
The companies agreed to sell their stakes to the family of
Demyan Kudryavtsev, who had bought the other 33.3% stake in the
newspaper from the Finnish publishing group Sanoma Independent
Media earlier this year. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Mr. Kudryavstev was formerly the publisher of rival publication
Kommersant.
The law has been seen as part of an effort by the Kremlin to
exert firmer control over Russian media, a sector that already has
few dissenting voices. Since Vladimir Putin came to power 15 years
ago, the state has consolidated control over the television sector
in partnership with tycoons friendly to the Kremlin, clamping down
on the main source of news for most Russians.
Vedomosti had been considered a reliably independent voice in
Russian media and often printed articles critical of the
government.
"We are very proud of the work we have done with Vedomosti and
our contribution to independent press in Russia for the past 15
years," Pearson and Dow Jones said in a joint statement. "The
quality and integrity of the Vedomosti editorial team is
outstanding and both the FT and The Wall Street Journal plan to
continue licensing content to Vedomosti to provide high-quality,
international news to readers in Russia."
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 23, 2015 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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