The Czech billionaire and boss of CMI (“Elle”, “Marianne”…), Daniel Kretinsky, lends 14 million euros to Liberation to guarantee “the financing of the security until its return to equilibrium” in 2026, announced Tuesday the Independent Press company, owner of the daily.
In addition to this loan, Mr. Kretinsky, via his foundation, is donating one million euros to the “endowment fund for an independent press” (FDPI), majority shareholder of independent press, according to an announcement made internally by the director general of Liberation, Denis Olivennes.
paid “in the form of bonds”the loan must make it possible to cover the losses of the title, loss-making despite strong growth in its sales, while preserving its “independence”according to the Independent Press release.
The FDPI, to which Patrick Drahi’s Altice group sold Liberation two years ago, “rejoiced at the arrival at his side” of one “new quality partner”seeing it “a pledge of confidence in the future of the newspaper”according to the text.
Also quoted in the press release, Daniel Kretinsky says he is “happy to thus participate in the perpetuation of an independent newspaper and essential to the democratic debate”.
Denis Olivennes announced in July that he was looking for 15 million euros for Libé. The return to equilibrium had been postponed from 2023 to 2026, due in particular to slower than expected development in advertising, aggravated by the pandemic.
In Tuesday’s press release, the leader assures that “Liberation has fully entered the digital subscription revolution” and praise it “stronger increase in circulation of the national daily press” observed “for a year and a half”.
According to the ACPM, Liberation sold more than 93,000 copies daily over the period 2021-2022, an increase of 11.14% compared to 2020-2021.
In 2021, its turnover reached 31.5 million euros, up 10%, and operating losses were reduced to 7.9 million against 12.3 million in 2020.