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The Appeals Board for Media Ownership reverses decision of prohibiting the acquisition of Vikebladet Vestposten by Sunnmørsposten
The local newspaper Vikebladet Vestposten was acquired by the regional paper Sunnmørsposten, owned by the Orkla group. The Norwegian Media Ownership Authority decided against the buyup, because the Orkla group would have attained a significant ownership position in the region. Accordingly, the Sunnmørsposten was instructed to sell their recently acquired share to buyers not associated to the Orkla group. The decision was appealed by the Sunnmørsposten, but the Appeals Board sustained the decision in May 2004.

The process was suspended awaiting the result of another court ruling pertaining to an acquisition of another newspaper, presumed highly relevant to the case in question. As it turned out, this ruling did not shed light on the judicial issues relevant to the Vikebladet Vestposten case.

In the current state of affairs the Sunnmørsposten has effectively been the owner of the Vikebladet Vestposten since 1999. A final court ruling may yet lie years ahead, and the parties have in the meantime adapted to the new situation. Changing owners at this late point of time may consequently seem unfair. On this background, the Appeals Board has decided to reverse the original decision.

From the point of view of the Appeals Board, the current case illustrates the disadvantage of suspending intervention while awaiting a final court ruling. Such suspension might involve a substantial time span detrimental to intervention.

The Sunnmørsposten is the newspaper with the largest circulation in the region between the cities of Bergen and Trondheim. The Vikebladet Vestposten is a local newspaper for the municipalities of Ulstein and Hareid in the Sunnmøre region of Western Norway.


Last modified 2005-04-13 03:27
 
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