The Czech billionaire and boss of CMI (She, Marianne…), Daniel Kretinsky, lends 14 million euros to Release to guarantee “the financing of the title until its return to equilibrium” in 2026, announced Tuesday the Independent Press company, owner of the daily.
The loan must make it possible to cover the losses of the title
In addition to this loan, Mr. Kretinsky, through 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 general manager of ReleaseDenis Olivennes.
Paid “in the form of bonds”, the loan should make it possible to cover the losses of the title, in deficit 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, “welcomes the arrival at its side” of a “new quality partner”, seeing it as “a pledge of confidence in the future of the newspaper”, according to the text.
A turnover of 31.5 million euros in 2021
Also quoted in the press release, Daniel Kretinsky says he is “happy to participate in the sustainability of an independent newspaper that is essential to 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 “Release has fully entered the digital subscription revolution” and boasts of the “strongest increase in circulation of the national daily press” observed “for a year and a half”. According to the CMPA, Release sold more than 93,000 copies daily over the 2021-2022 period, 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.