Caxton plans to head to Competition Commission; says Media24 restructuring could have 'serious competition and public interest concerns' and
Novus is one of southern Africa’s most prominent print, publishing and packaging groups. It has a longstanding relationship with Media24 and prints all of Media24’s newspapers. “The decision to close the titles is a fait accompli, and Media24’s claim that it is merely considering closure belies the truth.”
Jenkins says the deal with Novus to take over On the Dot – with a “sweetener” of the Western Cape community titles thrown in – is part of Media24’s pre-determined exit from print. “The transaction with Novus is anti-competitive, a blow to democracy at this pivotal time in South Africa’s history and definitely not in the public interest.Regarding selling the print titles, Davidson says Media24 would not consider any offers for the mainstream newspaper titles that already reside in some digital format on either of what he terms “our two hero digital news platforms” – News24 and Netwerk24.