Prague, February 20, 2019: SFS Ventures s.r.o. today announced that it has acquired 60% of the share capital of Polish radio company Eurozet sp. z o.o. from Czech Media Invest. Leading independent Polish media company Agora S.A. has acquired the remaining 40% as a passive minority investor with an option to buy-out SFS Ventures in the future.
SFS Ventures is a Czech joint venture between Sourcefabric z.u., which was founded in Prague in 2010 to pursue the goal of supporting independent journalism worldwide through open-source digital newsroom solutions, and Media Development Investment Fund, Inc. (MDIF), a mission-driven investment fund for independent news businesses providing news and information that stimulate the type of debate that people need to build free, thriving societies.
“As the number two radio company on the Polish market, Eurozet is an excellent investment for us,” said Marie Nemcova, Executive Director of SFS Ventures. “It is a profitable business with a national license. Eurozet also has the leading radio portal and we believe that Sourcefabric and MDIF have the digital media expertise to bring extra value and strengthen it even further.”
“We wholeheartedly support Eurozet’s non-partisan news programming, which is much needed in the current polarised atmosphere,” said Ms Nemcova. “Our purchase of a controlling interest in the company will not result in any changes whatsoever to its broadcasting and programming.”
With a mission to bridge the digital divide in media by making state-of-the-art tools available to organisations and individuals in need of better technology, Sourcefabric aims to support the future of quality journalism as the lifeblood of democratic societies. Its free-to-download tools include Airtime, also available as an online radio platform Airtime.pro, which boasts an intelligent automation system, DJ management and seamless transitions between live audio streaming and scheduled content, and Superdesk, a digital newsroom content management system and workflow platform for news media.
Sourcefabric develops and maintains a strong media development portfolio. Its international list of clients includes online-only and multi-channel newspapers, radio stations, self-publishing and print-on-demand service providers, as well as NGOs and news agencies.
MDIF’s investments range from small local newspapers through digital news media to national multiplatform broadcasters located across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Founded in 1996, MDIF has to date invested nearly $200 million in 115 media companies across 39 countries. Through its investments, close to 100 million people receive their news from MDIF investees and borrowers annually.
MDIF’s broad base of more than 30 investors is a mix of U.S. and European investment funds, private investors, media companies, foundations, development agencies and development finance institutions. MDIF is also a co-founder of the European Press Prize Foundation, a grouping of European media-owning foundations.