Profile
Editura Evenimentul si Capital is majority owned by Dan Andronic (90%) with the minority stake in the hands of George Paunescu (known as Bobby Paunescu) and Claudiu Serbian. The company entered insolvency in 2014.
The company runs Evenimentul zilei, a former popular daily newspaper that is currently published only online. Its printed edition was discontinued in 2020. Editura Evenimentul si Capital has been recently involved in a dispute between Paunescu and Andronic regarding a planned attempt of forced takeover of Evenimentul and Capital by Maricel Pacuraru, owner of Realitatea TV, with the support of Paunescu. The scandal has been widely covered, Realitatea TV attacking Andronic who opposes the takeover.
In the past, Andronic and Evenimentul zilei were accused of serving various political interests for financial benefits. In 2020, Andronic was sentenced to three years in prison with suspension for joining an organized criminal group.
Evenimentul zilei was founded by journalists and businessmen Ion Cristoiu, Cornel Nistorescu and Mihai Carciog back in 1992 when it instantly became the best selling newspaper in Romania. In 1998, the newspaper was purchased along with its parent company Expres Publishing by the German-owned publisher Gruner + Jahr (which is owned, in turn, by the Bertelsmann powerhouse). In 2003, the Germans sold the newspaper to the Swiss press publisher Ringier.
In 2004, more than 50 journalists working with Evenimentul zilei criticized Ringier’s management decisions, complaining that their editorial freedom was threatened as Ringier’s bosses asked journalists to tone down their negative reporting of the government. After that episode, Evenimentul zilei turned into one of the most fervent critics of the corruption surrounding the government in Romania.
Nonetheless, by early 2005, Evenimentul zilei began to gradually change its editorial policy and became a tabloid. The shift prompted dozens of journalists to resign.
In 2010, Ringier sold its shares in the newspaper to Bobby Paunescu who later sold the majority stake to Andronic, keeping only 5% for himself.
The other major publication of the group is Capital, a business magazine that first hit the newsstands in 1992. It was also owned by Ringier. Together with Evenimentul zilei, Capital was sold by Ringier in 2010 to Editura Evenimentul si Capital majority owned by Bobby Paunescu.
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