Michael Peters of Euronews receives the Award
This stake has been purchased through a capital increase of €35 million and follows several months of exclusive negotiations, validated by an extraordinary general assembly on June 19.
Since then, a dedicated shareholders agreement has been signed by the vast majority of the public shareholders, giving final validation to the entrance of Media Globe Networks to the capital.
Following the acquisition, the remaining 47% of shares in Euronews will stay with its traditional shareholders, namely 21 public TV channels and three local authorities.
Euronews will be governed by three distinctive bodies: the supervisory board, the editorial board and the executive board. The 10 members of the editorial board will be journalists or have a strong experience in the media area. Meanwhile, seven out of the 10 members of this editorial Bboard, including the chairman, will be directly appointed by the public shareholders of Euronews. The creation of the editorial board will allow an active permanent control of the independence and diversity of Euronews editorial line. This new governance, validated by all stakeholders, will ensure the preservation of the mission of general interest of the international news media as well as its editorial independence.
The supervisory board has also renewed the directorship of Michael Peters as CEO of Euronews for a term of four years.
He said: “I am grateful for the consistent support that the Euronews’ Shareholders demonstrated over the preceding months throughout this project, which will definitely put Euronews in a new dimension.
“The process of capital increase started one year ago. We chose to enter exclusive negotiations with Media Globe Networks, because of its clear commitment and guarantees to respect Euronews diversity and editorial independence. We are delighted to work alongside our new investor to expand our reach and service lines in order to reinforce Euronews’ position as a key-player in the media industry.”
Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO of Media Globe Networks, added: “Euronews is a strong, global, independent and highly professional news media.
“I believe that Euronews, with its unique expertise, has a huge potential for future growth and do fully support Michael Peters and his team in their aim of raising Euronews to the next level.”
Paolo Garimberti, current chairman of the Supervisory Board of Euronews, said: “The public shareholders welcome the investment of Media Globe Networks and look forward to working alongside Naguib Sawiris to support the future growth and development of Euronews.
“The new governance provides all the guarantees regarding the editorial independence of Euronews. The public shareholders will remain closely involved alongside the new investor for the success of this unique media.”
The acquisition was initially announced in February this year.
