Ringier Axel Springer buys out TVN, takes full control of Onet

Ringier Axel Springer Media has become the sole owner of Polish web portal Onet after buying the remaining 25% of the business it doesn’t already own from joint venture partner TVN.

The acquisition stems from an agreement signed by Scripps-owned Polish media company TVN and Ringier Axel Springer Media in 2012, the year that the firms jointly established Onet.

The deal puts Ringier Axel Springer in sole charge of popular Onet services, including: on-demand service VOD.pl; dating site Sympatia.pl; map-based local search service ZUMI.pl, and social networking website Nasza Klasa.pl.

“Ringier Axel Springer has been an excellent partner in Onet, and the sale of our remaining stake in the business enables us to focus on developing and building TVN’s portfolio of entertainment, news and lifestyle brands across linear and digital platforms,” said TVN president and CEO, Jim Samples.
Ringier Axel Springer Media CEO, Mark Dekan said: “The acquisition of the remaining shares in Onet Holding is a logical step in our digitisation and growth strategy, and will allow us to further roll-out the plans in the development of our product and service offering.

“We will further invest in the field of content creation with a special focus on mobile, video and native advertising. I would like to thank TVN for the good cooperation we have had throughout the years.”

Ringier Axel Springer Media AG was established in 2010 as a joint venture between Swiss Ringier and German Axel Springer to combine their international operations in Central and Eastern Europe.