Roularta Media Group SA has bought Belgian freesheet Het Gouden Blad, for about one million euro, Thomson Financial reported Wednesday.

Het Gouden Blad publishes in the two towns of Waregem and Deinze.

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As part of a deal with a media watchdog group, Norwegian media group Schibsted ASA will sell its entire 34.3 percent stake in newspaper group Adresseavisen ASA in order to create its Media Norge newspaper group.

The Independent Media Ownership Council authorised Media Norge's establishment Tuesday, on the condition that Schibsted sell its Adresseavisen shares, Thomson Financial reported.

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Investor group Firebrand Partners and hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners have increased their stake in the New York Times Company to 15.6 percent, making them the largest shareholder, and are pushing for four seats on the board, Brand Republic reported Friday.

The two dissident shareholders doubled their stake to 10 percent last week, before increasing it again to 15.6 percent this week. Scott Galloway, founder of Firebrand Partners, has been calling on the Times Co. to invest more in digital operations.

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According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Tuesday, dissident shareholder Harbinger Capital Partners has increased its stake to 11.8 percent in New York Times Co.

Harbinger, a New York University business professor, has criticised the Times for not aggressively focusing on its digital businesses.

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According to an interview with Bill Gates, Microsoft is not haggling with Yahoo over the rebuffed $31-per-share buyout offer, the Associated Press reported.

"We sent them a letter and said we think that's a fair offer. There's nothing that's gone on other than us stating that we think it's a fair offer. They should take a hard look at it," said the Microsoft chairman Monday.

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The Montenegrin government will offer only 51 percent of its shares in Pobjeda, the oldest state-run daily in Montenegro, in a bid to take the newspaper private.

Offering only 51 percent will allow the government to retain power over decisions about content, design and production, The Montenegro Times reported Monday.

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Telegraaf Media Groep N.V. has bought communications firm Nobiles Media BV and 100 percent of both of its joint ventures, Smart Events B.V. and Info Pinnacle B.V., Thomson Financial reported Monday.

Financial terms of the deal, effective Saturday, were not disclosed. Nobiles Media had previously held a 50 percent in Info Pinnacle and Smart Events.

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The Sun-Times Media Group Inc. announced Friday it has retained investment banking firm Lazard to help evaluate strategic financial alternatives, including selling its flagship newspaper the Chicago Sun-Times.

Earlier this month, Sun-Times Media announced it had formed a strategic alternatives committee to investigate future actions, including selling some or all of its properties, and partnerships with third parties, The Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

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Yahoo Wednesday sent a letter to its shareholders, outlining the reasons why its board believes Microsoft’s offer is not in the best interest of Yahoo stockholders and undervalues the company, PaidContent reported Thursday.

The letter came as the company is having talks with News Corp. as an alternative deal.

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Hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners has increased its stake in The New York Times Co., doubling its share from 4.9 percent to 9.96 percent, a move aimed at naming four directors to The Times' board, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Harbinger is working with Scott Galloway, a New York University marketing professor, to try to implement changes in the company, which they say has not built up its digital businesses aggressively enough.

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Yahoo, who turned down a takeover bid by Microsoft Monday, announced Tuesday its acquisition of Maven Networks, an online video distribution firm.

According to Yahoo, this deal is valued at about US$160 million, and would make it the leading premium video publisher online, Media Post reported Tuesday.

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Promotora de Informaciones SA (Prisa), will sell minority stakes in its businesses to cut debt and finance expansion, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Prisa CEO Juan Luis Cebrian said the media company will continue what it started in December, when it sold 16 percent of its radio operations to 3iGroup Plc for €225 million, and sell of pieces of its other divisions.

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Belo has completed the spin-off of its original newspaper division. The new broadcast-focus company, which operates 20 local stations in seven markets in the United States, began trading Monday.

The newspaper operations, including The Dallas Morning News and Providence Journal, are now a new separate public company, A.H. Belo, which also began trading on the NYSE Monday, Media Post reported Monday.

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Yahoo turned down Microsoft's US$44.6 billion takeover bid as “inadequate” Monday, without explaining how its management will match the payoff that the shareholders would have received if the offer had been accepted, MSNBC reported.

The rebuff had been widely anticipated due to the leak of Yahoo's intention during the weekend.

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AOL's U.S. dial-up access and advertising businesses will finally be divided, announced Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner's recently appointed CEO, Media Post reported Thursday.

During the fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Bewkes said his vision for the future of the company includes the possibility of spinning off its cable division.

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Time Warner's AOL has purchased an online affiliate marketing network named Buy.at in order to bolster its ad infrastructure, MediaPost reported. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Since 2007, AOL's acquisitions have mostly focused on ad serving to build its overarching Platform-A advertising unit, while Buy.at is expected to give AOL a more direct relationship to online retailers.

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Yahoo would consider an alliance with Google instead of a takeover by Microsoft, Reuters reported Sunday.

The company's management is considering restarting talks held last year with Google about how to work more closely together, according to a source familiar with Yahoo's strategy.

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Telegraaf Media Group (TMG) has agreed to buy Argos Press' Amsterdams Stasblad, the publisher announced Friday, according to a Publicitas report Monday.

The acquisition concerns free weeklies Aalsmeerder Courant, Amstelveens Weekblad, Amsterdams Stadsblad, Diemer Courant, De Ronde Vener and Uithoornse Courant.

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News International has invested millions of pounds in a joint venture with online French fashion company BrandAlley, which sells high-end men's and women's clothing, MediaGuardian reported Friday.

The parent company of the Times and News of the World, among others, will support BrandAlley UK with marketing, including advertisements in the Sunday Times' Style magazine and the Times.

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To boost its odds in the online services market, Microsoft Corp. announced Friday it will offer US$44.6 billion in cash and stock for search engine operator Yahoo Inc.

The unexpected announcement shows Microsoft’s ambition in seeking new ways to vie more effectively against the search and online advertising powerhouse Google Inc.

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