Rainbow Wisdom Investment a subsidiary of China’s state owned CITIC Group exercised options to become the majority owner of Jaromír Soukup’s Medea Group with a 57 percent stake.
The acquisition opens the way for the Chinese state firm to influence Czech media. Who are dependent on the advertising revenue that is given to them by the Medea. Medea manages advertising budgets of CZK 3 billion a year.
Last fall, Rainbow Wisdom Investment obtained the anti-monopoly authority’s permission to invest in Empresa Media and Medea. Rainbow Wisdom Investment acquired shares in both companies last June when it took over the assets of CEFC China. It gained 49 percent in Empresa Media and 30 percent in the Medea Group.
Empresa Media is one of the largest Czech publishing houses. It publishes magazines such as Týden, Seven and Interview, and books. At the turn of 2012 and 2013, Barrandov was added to the group.
Medea Group is the largest media company in the Czech Republic, providing marketing and media services. Soukup acquired it in the late 1990s and turned it into one of the most prominent players on the Czech market.