Swiss media group Ringier buys leading Romanian sports newspaper

Swiss media group Ringier has reached an agreement with local group Intact to take over Gazeta Sporturilor, the main sports newspaper in Romania. Bulgarian group sportal.bg, which operates some of the biggest sports websites in Bulgaria, will also hold a minority stake in the company that will own Gazeta Sporturilor, which is called Ringier Sportal SRL. The value of the transaction, which was not publicly disclosed, may have amounted to EUR 2 million, according to Hotnews.ro. The Gazeta Sporturilor team, made of some 85 people, led by Catalin Tolontan, one of the most appreciated sports and investigation journalists in Romania, will move to Ringier. The Swiss group sold Gazeta Sporturilor to Intact in 2000, one year after acquiring it. Then, Ringier bought competing newspaper Pro Sport from local media mogul Adrian Sarbu. However, the Pro Sport team led by Ovidiu Ioanitoaia and Catalin Tolontan left the newspaper due to disagreements with the new owners and joined Gazeta Sporturilor, turning it into the top sports newspaper on the market. Ringier sold Pro Sport back to Sarbu in 2007. The Swiss group made another attempt at taking over Gazeta Sporturilor in 2013. Intact group said it sold the paper to focus on its core television business. Meanwhile, Ringier strengthens its local media business, which also includes the tabloid Libertatea and several magazines, which have both print and online editions. The Swiss group also bought real estate portal imobiliare.ro and recruiting portal eJobs.ro in recent years. editor@romania-insider.com