ProSport returns to MediaPro

PubliMedia International, MediaPro's publishing division, has taken over the ProSport publication from Ringier Romania, after the agreement was reached on November 20 and approved by the Competition Council.

The price of the transaction, however, will not be made public. The transaction includes the transfer of the title, of all additional trademarks and online domains. The editorial team, as well as the employees that handle the newspaper's competitions will also join PubliMedia. Under the buy-sell contract, the new owner cannot modify the provisions in the employment contract of the transferred personnel for at least six months.
The transfer to the new headquarters will take place in mid January. Until then, Ringier Romania will continue to handle all publishing operations for ProSport.
The management of the editorial team will not be transferred to PubliMedia. Dorin Chiotea (the editor-in-chief) will continue to work for Ringier Romania, and Cristian Topescu will lose his prerogatives as ProSport editorial director as a result of the title being sold.
The new editor-in-chief of the publication will be Dan Filoti, the current deputy-editor-in-chief, who will take over the next day after the transfer becomes effective in January.
"ProSport is a brand naturally associated with MediaPro. To us this acquisition means bringing ProSport back where it belongs, and also a fresh start. To begin with, it will be a worthwhile investment, and a step forward in terms of market share. In the medium run, it will be a successful business," stated Cosmina Noaghea, Publishing Director of Publimedia International.
"The return of the ProSport title to MediaPro's portfolio will mean a promising future for the newspaper and for the people working there (...)," said Alexander Theobald, general manager of Ringier Romania.
Launched on July 2 1997, Prosport was the first full-colour daily in Romania, and was sold by MediaPro to Ringier in 2003.