The Global Media Weekly for executives and entrepreneurs

Now Kretinsky bites into Le Monde

News. Czech investor Daniel Kretinsky’s Czech Media Invest has acquired a 49% stake in Le Nouveau Monde, the principal shareholder of Le Monde, France’s 74-year-old daily (afternoon) newspaper. He has reportedly bought about half of the shares formerly held by Lazard banker Matthieu Pigasse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Earlier this year, Kretinsky acquired several magazines from Lagardère, including Elle (most of whose international editions are published under licence by Hearst Corp, of the US) and TV listings magazine Télé 7 Jours. He also owns the French newsweekly Marianne. In the Czech Republic, Kretinsky owns EPH, the largest energy group in Central Europe. Two years ago, he sold 31% of a EPH infrastructure subsidiary to Australia-based Macquarie for $1.6bn. He co-owns the Czech tabloid Blesk, the country’s most widely-read newspaper, and also football club Sparta Prague.