A company backed by the Soros Economic Development Fund has taken control of two major Polish newspapers, raising concerns over far-left media bias due to the billionaire oligarch’s progressive politics.
The Polish owner of the daily Rzeczpospolita and the financial daily Parkiet, Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, has sold a large proportion of his shares in Gremi Media, which owns the two papers, to the Dutch company Pluralis. This completes a deal struck in 2021 that saw Pluralis buy a minority stake with the option to buy extra shares later.
As a result, Hajdarowicz has ceased to be the majority shareholder in Gremi Media, with the Dutch company Pluralis now owning 57 percent of the shares, which has allowed it to take control of the company, according to Business Insider.
One of the shareholders in Pluralis is the “Soros Economic Development Fund.”
The fact that billionaire George Soros, along with his surrogates, has become indirectly involved in the deal runs counter to his recent announcement that he is pulling out of being active within the European Union.
Soros has been highly active in former communist countries.
He is hostile to Poland’s ruling conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party and the idea that it could win power for a third term in the parliamentary elections in October.
Soros supports liberal migration policies and deeper integration within the European Union.
Poland’s state-backed oil and gas giant, Orlen, which has purchased a large number of regional papers, was in 2021 reported to be interested in purchasing the company then fully owned by Hajdarowicz.
However, Hajdarowicz preferred to sell the shares of Gremi Media to a foreign investor.
