The company Adria News S.à r.l., which operates the media outlets N1, NovaS, Danas, Vijesti, Nova.rs and Radar, has been sold to Alpac Capital, the owner of Euronews. Why has this sale caused concern among some members of the public?
Until now, Adria News S.à r.l. (ANN) had been part of the United Group system, specifically one of the companies within its media division. The overall ownership structure of United Group is complex, but when simplified, it becomes clear that the investment fund BC Partners, through the holding company Summer Parent, controls United Group.
Controversies surrounding Alpac Capital
Alpac Capital is a Portuguese investment group founded in 2013 which primarily invests in media, telecommunications and technology. The company is headquartered in Lisbon and also operates through offices in other countries, including Hungary and the United Arab Emirates.
The wider public first became aware of it in 2022 when it purchased a majority stake in Euronews, one of the largest international television networks, broadcasting in 19 languages and available in more than 160 countries.
At that point, something reportedly changed in Euronews’ editorial policy. For months there was cautious speculation about this shift, and then the French daily newspaper Le Monde, together with the media outlets Direkt36 and Expresso, conducted an investigation into the purchase of Euronews. The results of the investigation were published in 2024. They stated that a significant portion of the funds used to acquire the network, specifically 150 million euros, had been financed by the Hungarian state and individuals closely connected to the government there.
This could partly explain the fact that after the sale of Euronews, some of its employees in Hungary were dismissed and audiences began complaining about noticeable political influence over the network.
Euronews in Serbia
Other media organisations also investigated the way Euronews operates, including Euractiv, which concluded that the network generally “cooperates with authoritarian regimes, from the Serbian one to the Azerbaijani one”.
However, even before that, it had become clear in Serbia that something was happening at Euronews. Slightly more than a year ago, students and citizens blocked entrances to Serbia’s public broadcaster, demanding that it begin reporting in accordance with professional standards. In response to the action, Euronews issued a statement accusing the demonstrators of violence against RTS journalists. Some Euronews employees objected to the harsh rhetoric, while the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (NUNS) criticised the statement for its manipulative and inappropriate wording. Of the Euronews employees who protested, 12 were dismissed or declared redundant.
Alpac Capital promises media independence
Since ANN has now also been sold to the owner of Euronews, part of the public is concerned that a similar scenario could be repeated with the journalists of the media outlets it manages.
However, the statement announcing the purchase of ANN said that Alpac Capital had been selected as the buyer because it offered “the greatest value while simultaneously fulfilling the principles of governance and independence established from the very beginning”.
The statement added that the new owner of the media outlets would be committed to “promoting neutral and fact-based journalism that respects the highest editorial standards, as demonstrated by its ownership of Euronews”.
According to the investment group, the share purchase agreement includes contractual protection mechanisms safeguarding ANN’s editorial and operational independence, clearly separating editorial and commercial interests, and preserving an independent external advisory body.
(Biznis i Finansije, 29.05.2026)
https://bif.rs/2026/05/n1-novas-radar-i-danas-su-prodati-vlasniku-euronews-a/
