Egypt’s second richest man, and member of the richest family in Egypt, Naguib Sawiris has announced his intentions to acquire 53 percent of Euronews media for a total of $US40 million.
Sawiris, who has a net worth of $3.1 billion, plans to join 23 public broadcasters which are its current shareholders.
Despite his intention to obtain a majority share, Sawiris promised to maintain the company’s editorial independence.
“I will be committed to carefully respecting the editorial independence and the mission of general interest of Euronews,” announced the 60-year-old business man and current CEO of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology.
Sawiris also announced plans to revamp Euronews, saying that it is time to prepare it for the ‘next generation’.
“The only age group watching TV is from 40 upwards.If we don’t prepare Euronews for the next generation by putting more emphasis on the digital world and social media, the very existence of this channel in 20 or 30 years might be jeopardised,” added Sawiris.
Euronews was established in 1992 following the Gulf War with the aim of creating a news network that provided information from a European perspective. Broadcast for the first time on 1 January 1993 from Lyon, the channel was founded by a group of nine European public broadcasters and Egypt’s ERTU (Egyptian Radio and Television Union).
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