Swiss group Ringier Sports Media Group and Vicontrol announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement to purchase historic sports newspaper A Bola and AutoFoco magazine.
“Ringier Sports Media Group (RSMG), headquartered in Switzerland, and Vicontrol SGPS SA have reached agreement on the acquisition of A Bola (newspaper, digital and television) and AutoFoco magazine,” the companies announced in a statement, adding that the operation will be completed in the coming weeks.
Both parties agreed to keep the sales values and valuation of the acquired companies secret.
According to the note, the RSMG “unites the leaders of the national sports media market with global technology solutions.”
“With eight brands and more entry, RSMG reaches more than 30 million sports fans per month, from Central Europe to West Africa,” the statement read.
RSMG was founded in the summer of 2022 as a subsidiary of Switzerland-based Ringier AG, a media and technology company.
Ringier AG is a Swiss media and technology company, the group consists of approximately 140 companies in 19 countries, operating a range of media brands, digital platforms and markets.
According to the information released, almost 80% of Ringier’s operating profit comes from the digital business.
De Bola is owned by Sociedade Vicra Desportiva, 90.2% controlled by Vicontrol SGPS (a company owned by Mário Jorge de Melo Arga e Lima, Chairman of the Board of Directors), according to information available on the Transparency Portal of the Regulatory Body for Social Communications (ERC).
In 2021, Sociedade Vicra Desportiva had a debt of 14.6 million euros. That year it recorded a turnover of 8.7 million euros and a net result of 356.7 thousand euros.
Source: DN
