El Nuevo Día de Bolivia said to be on the auction block.
There are reliable rumors that point to a possible sale by Prisa group.
Talk about the possible sale has been on the rise and economic papers like La Gaceta del los Negocios and Bolpress have covered the story. Spanish group Prisa could sell the Bolivian daily El Nuevo Día. According to these papers, the group is looking to get out of Bolivia all together.
Prisa boasts a Bolivian lineup that includes El Nuevo Día, Extra and La Razón. Lately the group has run afoul of some the mandates of Evo Morales, who joked about “nationalizing” the group. They also own a stake in ATB Bolivia.
The truth is that since the arrival of Evo Morales on the political scene and the victory of the Socialist Movement in 2005, relations between the two have not been good. In fact, many sources hint at the imminent exit of the Spanish group from the country. At one point, Prisa considered selling La Razón, but a downturn in the economy frustrated the plans of Burger King owner Samuel Doria Medina.
According to La Gaceta de los Negocios, the group’s exit can be attributed to a strategy of jettisoning “unprofitable businesses.” The paper also pointed out that magnate Alfredo Leigue Urenda, a long-time minority shareholder in subsidiaries of Prisa in Bolivia such as El Nuevo Día, Editorial Amanecer, S.A., has shown interest in the units.
On the other hand, comments made in the past few days by some of the group’s Spanish dailies have emphasized the true objective consists of building up El Nueva Día in terms of the “journalism, finance, and technologies” with the vision of creating a media “very committed to Santa Cruz and Bolivia with regards to democratic values, liberty, plurality, independence and respect of the individual citizen.” A questionable affirmation in light of the news that PRLatam has contacted Prisa for comment on the story, but until now, has received no reply.