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Media24 headquarters in Cape Town. (Graeme Williams/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Media24 CEO Ishmet Davidson says the company is open to selling its Afrikaans newspaper Beeld.The media group plans to close Beeld and the print editions of three other newspapers to cut losses from falling circulation and advertising. But Capital Newspapers appears unimpressed by the offer to buy just Beeld, saying it wants more titles. For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page.Media24 has, for the first time, stated it will consider “serious offers” to purchase its Afrikaans daily newspaper Beeld, which is sold in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the North West.
The announcement follows what the media group described as a “formal” and “concrete” offer from Capital Newspapers/Caxton to buy four newspapers that Media24 plans to close.
Last month, Media24 announced a major restructuring that could result in up to 400 job losses due to years of declining advertising and circulation.
The company plans to close the print editions of four newspapers, shut its SNL24 digital hub, offload its community newspaper portfolio, and sell its media logistics operation.
On Thursday, Media24 CEO Ishmet Davidson said the group would consider offers to buy Beeld to minimise job losses and keep the daily alive “as a brand that carries sentimental value”.
“Although we rejected the offer from Capital Newspapers/Caxton [to purchase On the Dot and Media24’s portfolio of community newspapers], we invited them to make an offer for Beeld. We welcome reasonable and properly considered offers from all interested parties,” he said.
The purchaser will need to retain the approximately 30 employees potentially affected by Beeld’s proposed closure at the end of September.
But Riquadeu Jacobs, managing director of Capital Newspapers, appeared to throw cold water on Davidson’s invitation.
“Capital Newspapers submitted an offer to Media24 to purchase all the terminating newspapers, with the objective of saving the majority of them as print titles,” said Jacobs on Thursday evening.
“Unfortunately, Media24 has rejected the offer. We will deal with the matter before the competition authorities when a merger notification is made.”
Jacobs explained that Capital Newspapers is a majority black-owned newspaper publishing company of which Caxton is a minority shareholder.
Only Beeld for sale
Davidson said that while Media24 was open to selling Beeld, it would not sell the other three titles Capital Newspapers/Caxton was interested in: Rapport, City Press, and Daily Sun. He reiterated plans for these three to continue as online publications.
Davidson said Rapport would remain under its own masthead on the Afrikaans online news site Netwerk24, while City Press would be available on News24. Together, they will form the “anchor” of Netwerk24’s and News24’s Sunday news offering. Media24 also plans to relaunch Daily Sun as a standalone, free e-news site.
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Davidson said that Caxton had also reiterated its offer to purchase Media24’s media logistics operation, On the Dot, and its community newspaper portfolio. However, Media24 has already accepted an offer from Novus Holdings to buy On the Dot, the community newspapers, and Soccer Laduma.
“We have no intention to renege on this transaction, subject to regulatory approval,” he said.
Davidson added that selling the community newspaper portfolio to Capital Newspapers/Caxton would give them direct and indirect ownership of 76% of the community newspaper market in South Africa.
“This will have a very worrying impact on the democratic right of millions of South Africans who depend on community newspapers for information and news based on independent editorial diversity,” he said.
Trade union Solidarity, which has argued against the newspaper closures, said it would respond on Friday.
*News24 is part of Media24
*The article has been updated to clarify the relationship between Caxton and Capital Newspapers.
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