Bloomberg: "Vedomosti" can buy Putin's friends

Businessmen close to Vladimir Putin are going to purchase a Vedomosti newspaper, Bloomberg reports with reference to three informed sources. The day before, the president signed the law on restriction of foreign capital participation in the Russian media.

According to RBC, the new law can be used so that the shares of the American News Corp. (The publisher of The Wall Street Journal), the British FT Group (Publisher The Financial Times) and the Finnish Sanoma in the "Vedomosti" acquired either the Gazprom-Media holding, which is led by Mikhail Lesin, or the company associated with Yuri Kovalchuk.

Lesin in an interview with the Rain TV channel denied information about the possible plans of his holding to purchase assets of the Vedomosti newspaper. "What do I have to do with this? I do not interest the newspaper" Vedomosti "and the newspaper business. I am not interested in this business," he said

In turn, Bloomberg interlocutors claim that the corresponding plan was supported by the Presidential Administration of Russia. According to them, in order for a deal with loyal Putin businessmen to become more “politically attractive”, an intermediary may be used.

"The Kremlin considers foreign governments to be" Vedomosti ". The Wall Street Journal, he equates to" USA ", and The Financial Times - to the UK," Tatyana Lysova chief editor of Vedomosti told the agency.

The press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg that the fate of Vedomosti would determine the “market process”. “We do not know what will happen to the“ Vedomosti ”, who will buy them,” said the Kremlin representative.

The main contender for the purchase of Russian assets of Sanoma, sources call the American investor Peter Gerwi, known as the founder of the STS Media and the Maximum radio station. The businessman told the publication that he is really interested in assets, but acts on his own, and not on anyone's name.

President of RBC Derck Sauer, who founded Vedomosti in 1999, expressed the opinion that The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times are in a very difficult situation.

"In Russia, there are very few people who are able to buy" Vedomosti "and at the same time guarantee the newspaper editorial independence," Sauer said. In his opinion, the most likely buyer of the publication will be the structure "loyal to the government." “This is what bothers me,” the businessman added.