Ringier sells its Hungarian media portfolio company Ringier Hungary Kft. to Indamedia, one of the most dynamically growing digital publishing houses in the Hungarian media market, operating 18 high-reach online publications with nearly five million monthly users.
For more than a decade, the Indamedia Group has been a consistent market leader in the online news portal segment with Index, while also building a similarly strong position in the online women’s magazine category with its publications Femina and Dívány. In recent years, it has also developed successful event brands such as the AI Summit and DOGZ Festival. Following the current transaction, Indamedia will enter segments in which it previously had no products, and its employee base will expand with a company that has an exceptionally strong corporate culture.
The transaction includes: Blikk, Hungary’s most widely read market-leading national daily newspaper and one of the country’s most popular news portals, the Sunday newspaper Vasarnapi Blikk, EgészségKalauz.hu, a well-known health portal, Kiskegyed and Glamour, popular women’s and lifestyle magazines, the car magazine Auto Bild, recepttár.hu, a digital gastronomy platform, various TV magazines such as Sarga RTV, Színes Kéthetes, TV Revü, TVR Kéthetes, TVR Ujsag, TVR-Hét.
Marc Walder, CEO Ringier: «Thanks to its leading position in the digital sector and its deep roots in the Hungarian market, Indamedia is ideally positioned to accelerate the transformation of our media brands and enable them to enjoy a successful future. This is a very good solution for Ringier Group and our media brands in Hungary. The sale of our media portfolio in Hungary is a strategic, local decision. It allows us to focus our resources on our existing markets in Europe and Africa.»
Tibor Kovács, Managing Director Ringier Hungary: «This transaction marks a significant new chapter for the valued former Ringier media brands. With Indamedia, these titles gain a strong, locally rooted owner with a proven track record in the Hungarian market, who will ensure their continued growth and journalistic excellence. I am incredibly proud of the dedication and achievements of our teams over the years, who have made these brands household names. Personally, I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth transition.»
Gabor Ziegler, Co-owner and CEO of Indamedia: «With this transaction, Indamedia has reached an important milestone in its growth strategy. Through the acquisition of Ringier Hungary, the group is gaining a well-performing media company of similar size to Indamedia, with strong market positions and successful brands that play a defining role in the Hungarian media landscape — across print, online, and events. I believe that the joint work of the two media companies’ teams — both of which have been highly profitable on their own — will provide readers, users, and viewers, as well as those attending our events in person, with even more experiences, information, and well-founded knowledge on a daily basis. As a result, Indamedia will be even better positioned in the future to compete not only with domestic but also with global players.
Profession and sportal.hu remain with Ringier
Ringier continues to operate its digital marketplace and sports media businesses in Hungary as part of its core international portfolio: Profession, Hungary’s leading digital job platform as well well as the sports platform Sportal.hu, which is part of Ringier Sports Media Group, remain unaffected by the sale of the media division in Hungary.
About Indamedia
Indamedia Network is one of the largest Hungarian-owned players in the country’s media market operating 18 online publications and platforms, including several market-leading brands. The group’s flagship and strongest brand is Index, Hungary’s premier news portal. Economx, its economic portal, maintains a strong presence in financial media. Totalcar, an automotive magazine that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and stands out among online news portals with its strong presence and success in commercial television. Indamedia is also a market leader in the field of online women’s magazines. The flagship of this segment, Femina, is supported by several other women-focused publications within the group, including Dívány, which offers high-quality expert content, as well as a range of smaller gastronomy and lifestyle magazines. The group includes Port, a cultural magazine and program guide that has dominated the Hungarian cultural publication market for more than 25 years. The IndaPlay video platform offers the opportunity to be informed while entertained, spanning topics from public affairs and gastronomy to a wide range of lifestyle subjects.
The company entered the event market three years ago, and today organizes nearly 100 successful events each year. These include high-profile gatherings such as the regionally leading tech and business conference AI Summit Budapest, and DOGZ Festival, a mega event beloved by dog enthusiasts and families. In addition, Indamedia’s publishing house releases numerous bestselling books every year.
About Ringier
Ringier is a leading European media company headquartered in Switzerland with a tradition dating back more than 190 years. With around 6,000 employees, the group operates over 130 companies in 19 European and African countries. The Ringier portfolio comprises three main business areas: leading media brands, sports media platforms, and digital marketplaces.
With a digital EBITDA share of 82 percent, Ringier ranks among Europe’s leading media companies. To this day, the group remains predominantly family-owned. Its best-known media brands include Blick, Bilanz, LandLiebe, L’illustré and Schweizer Illustrierte in Switzerland, Blic in Serbia, and Onet, Fakt, Forbes, and Business Insider in Poland. In the sports media sector, Ringier is present with platforms such as A Bola in Portugal, GSP.ro in Romania, sportal.bg in Bulgaria, and Sportal.rs in Serbia. The digital marketplaces are led by flagships such as JobCloud and SMG Swiss Marketplace Group in Switzerland, eJobs and imobiliare in Romania, CV Keskus in the Baltic states, and Profession in Hungary.