The acquisition deal for Kenya’s entertainment news portal, Ghafla, by Swiss media firm, Ringier, appears to have fallen through with the two resorting to enter a partnership instead.
Initially, reports had indicated that Ringier had bought out Ghafla in a deal said to have been worth millions of shillings. A notice put in a section of the press few months indicated Ghafla was to transfer its business and assets, including intellectual property rights, contracts and office equipment to Ringier Kenya Ltd.
Apparently, however, the deal appears to be hitting bumps. In the lead up to Ghafla’s relaunch on Wednesday, a press release from Ghafla communications office indicated it had been acquired by Ringier AG.
However, another press release was sent later to clarify that Ghafla had not been acquired by Ringer AG. Rather, the Ghafla and a Ringier affiliate, Ringier Africa Digital Publishing, had entered into a partnership that saw the formerly entertainment portal relaunch and enhance its editorial output to include current affairs, news and analysis. A Ghafla insider said the company was keen on making the clarification since reports of a buyout had created ‘anxiety’.
Under the deal, Ghafla founder Samwel Majani was retained as Co-CEO.
“The partnership with Ringier and relaunch consolidates Ghafla’s position as Kenya’s top entertainment news brand, as well as signals a new strategic direction in terms of expanding the editorial scope to include more politics, current affairs and international news stories, to further increase the popular platform’s followership. The redeveloped platform will also look to significantly increase its video and new media content, across all content sections and channels,” Ringier said in a statement.
NEXT READ >> KQ gets a surprise new leader
Ringier Africa & Asia CEO Robin Lingg said Ringier is constantly reaching for new opportunities to strengthen its position as an innovative and leading publisher; “We are excited to welcome Ghafla as a new partner of our business in East Africa, seeing a lot of great potential in the product and its further growth opportunities. The inclusion of Ghafla into the Ringier family comes at an exciting time for our publishing company, as we continue to invest in building out a fast-moving, pioneering, credible and truly pan-African publishing network.”
[crp]
