Solak and Boklag Launch Legal Action to Block United Group Media Sale

Dragan Solak, the founder and a minority shareholder of United Group, along with former CEO Victoriya Boklag, has launched legal action in London to halt the sale of the company's media assets.

The lawsuit targets three entities controlled by BC Partners, alleging that the sale of United Media is being conducted in breach of the Shareholders' Agreement. Solak and Boklag are seeking a legal ruling that the sale constitutes a "material change" to the nature of United Group's business and an injunction to prevent it from proceeding without their explicit consent. Their statement asserts that BC Partners initiated the sale of United Media, encompassing the entire media segment, without their authorization.

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The Shareholders’ Agreement grants Solak and Boklag contractual consent rights over any fundamental change in the nature of United Group’s business. Despite this, BC Partners initiated the sale of United Media, which encompasses the entire media segment, without their knowledge, authorization, or consent.

According to the statement, this sale would transform United Group from an integrated media and telecommunications provider into a company primarily focused on telecommunications, thereby diminishing the value of its integrated service offerings across Southeast Europe. The initial phase of the sale involves Adria News Network and its associated assets in Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro, as well as Nova BH and Nova Montenegro. Significantly, this includes N1, Nova, Radar, and Danas – described as some of the last remaining editorially independent media outlets in Serbia.

Solak and Boklag also voiced significant concerns about the process of the sale itself. They pointed to the proposed buyer's "publicly known track record" regarding cooperation, acceptance of investment from certain states, ties to Serbian authorities, and the potential negative consequences for media freedom in the region. The statement emphasized that under their leadership, the editorial independence of United Media outlets was guaranteed, fostering trust among viewers, readers, and journalists. Recent reports of potential shifts in the editorial approach of N1 Serbia have fueled these concerns, with media experts already noting changes in the station's reporting tone and content.

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The sale of United Media would dismantle an integrated telecom-media model built over many years and hand some of the last remaining editorially independent media in Serbia to Alpac Capital.