OREANDA-NEWS. The sale of Snoras Media, subsidiary of bankrupt Snoras bank and owner of a 34% interest in Lietuvos rytas media group, has been completed. On Friday, 11 October, Snoras administrator Neil Cooper finalised the sale to UAB BIG group, subsidiary of UAB Fragrances International. The buyer paid LTL 10 million to the bank for full control of Snoras Media which held the shares in Lietuvos rytas.

The sale of Snoras Media was completed after all the relevant requirements, including authorisation from the Competition Council, had been met.

“It was a complicated transaction since a number of media companies, Lietuvos rytas group among them, have struggled financially for several years. It is a specific and rather unpredictable business, and the interest was also not a controlling one, so many investors withdrew even before making binding offers. Nevertheless, we are happy that we managed to sell Snoras Media and recover a considerable amount for the benefit of the bank's creditors“, says Snoras bankruptcy administrator Neil Cooper.

Ten potential buyers in total signed confidentiality agreements and received tendering conditions. They included nearly all major media companies operating in Lithuania and other investors. Four buyers submitted offers and gained access to financial information.

The official procedure to sell Snoras Media began this spring. In the run up to the deal closure, the bankruptcy administrator put the company's affairs in order and capitalised its debts to Snoras.

The Lietuvos rytas media group publishes the Lietuvos rytas daily newspaper, TV antenna monthly magazine and controls www.lrytas.lt news portal, Lietuvos rytas television channel and a printing house.