Clarín Group
 | |
| Public | |
| Traded as |
LSE: GCLA BCBA: GCLA |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Key people |
Ernestina Herrera de Noble (Chairperson) Héctor Magnetto (CEO) |
| Products |
Newspapers Newsprint Cable television Radio broadcasting Internet service |
| Revenue |
 US$ 2.2 billion (2011)[1] |
|
US$ 278 million (2011)[1] | |
| Total assets |
US$ 2.4 billion (2011)[2] |
Number of employees | 7,000 |
| Website | www.grupoclarin.com |
Grupo Clarín is the largest media conglomerate in Argentina.
Overview
Established as such in 1999, it includes the Clarín newspaper (the most-widely circulated in Latin America), Papel Prensa (the nation's principal newsprint manufacturer), Cablevisión cable television, the Artear media company, and numerous other media outlets.[3]
Rooted in the successful, 1945 launch of the centrist daily, Clarín, by the late Roberto Noble, the group is active within the publishing, newspaper, television, radio, and telecommunications industries. Its largest shareholder is Ernestina Herrera de Noble. Other major shareholders include Héctor Magnetto, José Antonio Aranda, Lucio Rafael Pagliaro, and the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Magnetto is the President and CEO of the media group, while Ernestina Herrera de Noble directs the flagship Clarín newspaper.
Having become the largest newspaper distributor in the Spanish-speaking world by 1980 (when its revenues topped US$900 million),[3] the group diversified itself significantly in 1990, when it entered into television sector with the acquisition of Channel 13, and into radio with the purchase of Radio Mitre. Following the expansion into cable television in 1992 (Multicanal), Todo Noticias, the group's cable news channel, was established in 1993 and remains one of the most influential in its sector. The conglomerate also controls Patagonik Film Group and numerous regional newspapers (notably Los Andes of Mendoza and La Voz del Interior of Córdoba).[3]
Grupo Clarín was listed in the Buenos Aires and London Stock Exchanges in 2007, upon which a 20% share in the group was made available to stockholders (leaving 9% for Goldman Sachs, and 71% for its private shareholders).[4] The group's revenues in 2011 were accounted for mainly by its cable television units (principally Cablevisión and Multicanal), which accounted for 46% of sales, and by advertising revenues (22%). Internet service provider Prima S.A. yielded 14% of total revenues, and the Group's numerous publishing interests netted 9% of the total; and rights to broadcasting, programming and digital content accounted for most of the remainder.[5]
Goldman Sachs sold its 9% share in the group to Fontinalis Partners equity fund CEO Ralph Booth in 2012.[6] Amid ongoing controversies between Clarín and Kirchnerism over a 2009 anti-trust law that would limit the number of radio and television licenses held by the Clarín Group, the Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) enjoined the group on December 17, 2012, to divest itself of its majority stake in Cablevisión and of up to 213 broadcast licenses that would exceed the number stipulated by law; the 2009 Audiovisual Services Law allows companies to have 24 cable licenses and 10 free-to-air licenses for radio and television, and to cover no more than 35% of the pay-per-view population.[7]
References
- 1 2 "Financial Statements for Grupo Clarín: Income statement". Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
- ↑ "Financial Statements for Grupo Clarín: Balance sheet". Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
- 1 2 3 Funding Universe: Grupo Clarín
- ↑ Clarín (22 Oct 2007) (Spanish)
- ↑ "2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Grupo Clarín.
- ↑ "Goldman Sachs vende sus acciones en Clarín a un multimillonario". InfoNews.
- ↑ "Argentina’s government launches process to break up major media company Grupo Clarín". Washington Post.
External links
Coordinates: 34°37′44″S 58°22′36″W / 34.62889°S 58.37667°W