June 16, 2015 at 16:34The government commission has banned the sale of Fashion Press to Viktor Shkulev and Hearst Communications Inc
The authorities, namely the government commission on foreign investment, did not allow Viktor Shkulev and the American publishing house Hearts to acquire the Fashion Press division from the Finnish media holding Sanoma. The corresponding statement was made by the deputy head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Andrei Tsyganov, writes RBC.
The official did not explain the reasons for such a decision of the commission. The participants in the transaction also chose not to comment on the progress of the transaction.
Recall that Hearst Communications Inc. and HS Holding BV filed an application for permission to conduct the transaction with the FAS in January this year. The application was filed under the new rules, according to which transactions leading to the transfer of control of foreign companies of newspapers and magazines with a circulation of more than 60 thousand copies should be approved by the government special commission. The circulation of Cosmopolitan is 800 thousand copies.
From January 1 of next year, amendments to the law on mass media come into force, according to which citizens of another country, foreign companies or Russians with citizenship of another country cannot control more than 20% of the media or control the media in Russia.
As for the transaction, there is still the possibility of closing it after the relevant changes have been made in the format of the transaction itself. So, Hearst and Shkulev have now proposed Sanoma to restructure the deal, having designed it so that it does not fall under legislative restrictions. A new version of the transaction provides for the purchase of the company by Shkulev, who is a citizen of Russia.
Fashion Press is currently the largest company within Sanoma Independent Media. This company publishes magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Hearth, Popular Mechanics, and Robb Report. At the same time, half of the company belongs to Herst.
The official did not explain the reasons for such a decision of the commission. The participants in the transaction also chose not to comment on the progress of the transaction.
Recall that Hearst Communications Inc. and HS Holding BV filed an application for permission to conduct the transaction with the FAS in January this year. The application was filed under the new rules, according to which transactions leading to the transfer of control of foreign companies of newspapers and magazines with a circulation of more than 60 thousand copies should be approved by the government special commission. The circulation of Cosmopolitan is 800 thousand copies.
From January 1 of next year, amendments to the law on mass media come into force, according to which citizens of another country, foreign companies or Russians with citizenship of another country cannot control more than 20% of the media or control the media in Russia.
As for the transaction, there is still the possibility of closing it after the relevant changes have been made in the format of the transaction itself. So, Hearst and Shkulev have now proposed Sanoma to restructure the deal, having designed it so that it does not fall under legislative restrictions. A new version of the transaction provides for the purchase of the company by Shkulev, who is a citizen of Russia.
Fashion Press is currently the largest company within Sanoma Independent Media. This company publishes magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Hearth, Popular Mechanics, and Robb Report. At the same time, half of the company belongs to Herst.