Montenegro’s Commercial Court blocks takeover of Vijesti publisher and portal

A court ruling has stopped an ownership maneuver that could have cleared the way for Alpac Capital to take over Montenegro’s Vijesti media group.

At the end of August, Montenegro’s Commercial Court issued an interim measure blocking a change of ownership at Daily Press, the Podgorica-based company that publishes the Vijesti newspaper and portal. The measure prevents the Portuguese investment fund from taking control of the outlet while a dispute over minority shareholders’ right of first refusal remains unresolved.

The court also prohibited an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting scheduled for Sept. 9. Its Aug. 27 ruling followed a similar decision in mid-August involving Vijesti TV, a sister company. That decision also stopped United Media, the majority owner, from carrying out an identical corporate maneuver.

The dispute concerns United Media, a Luxembourg-based company, and its planned transfer of a stake to affiliated company Adria News. The transfer was intended to pave the way for the sale of the wider Vijesti group to Alpac Capital. Alpac Capital and Summer Parent S.à r.l., the ultimate shareholder of United Group, confirmed in May that they had reached an agreement for the sale of Adria News S.à r.l.