NMa Upholds Licensing Condition for Acquisition of De Limburger by Telegraaf Media Groep

The Management Board of the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) has not granted the application by Telegraaf Media Groep to revoke the condition which NMa attached to the licence issued in 2000 for the acquisition of Dagblad De Limburger. At the time, NMa approved the acquisition on condition that the editorial and commercial independence of Dagblad De Limburger and Limburgs Dagblad would be maintained, which at that time were part of the Telegraaf concern.

At the end of last year, Telegraaf Media Groep applied to NMa because, according to Telegraaf Media Groep, maintaining the independence of Dagblad De Limburger and Limburgs Dagblad was too costly. This is partly due to the continuous fall in the circulation of both daily newspapers, and that of Limburgs Dagblad in particular.

NMa concludes that at present is it is still reasonable to require Telegraaf Media Groep to guarantee the independence of both daily newspapers. To arrive at this decision, NMa weighed up, for instance, the interests of readers, who benefit from a varied offering of newspapers at the right price/quality ratio, against the business economic interests of Telegraaf Media Groep, as an investor and publisher.

The dismissal of Telegraaf Media Groep's application means that it is required to comply with the condition under which the licence to acquire De Limburger was granted in 2000. The management boards of the newspapers must retain their responsibility for the editorial and commercial independence of their own newspapers.