The Germany-based European Media Invest (EMI Deutschland) has acquired the majority stake in Medianet SRL, the publisher of Romania’s leading local newspaper Monitorul de Iasi.

The transaction is part of a development plan that ARBOmedia AG, owner of EMI Deutschland, is applying in Romania, while journalists and owners of the Iasi-based newspaper say it was a normal step in the consolidation process of the Romanian media.

According to Alexandru Lazescu, two reasons prompted the Monitorul de Iasi team to accept the ARBOmedia offer – the excellent collaboration with their team in the advertising field and the idea of being part of a major project of local media at a national level.

The newspaper is known locally for being the hub of the once successful Monitorul network of local dailies across Romania. It owned as many as 19 titles in 1999.

Silviu Ispas, EMI Deutschland representative to Romania, believes the transaction is relevant for the growing importance of local media in the current media landscape. EMI plans to extend its structural investments so that a future network of newspapers to boast full editorial independence while maintaining “financial and organizational comfort”.