Dominican Republic's oldest newspaper changes owner

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 31, 2010 at 10:10 AM

A group of Dominican investors have bought the 121-year-old Listin Diario and its radio stations, The Associated Press revealed yesterday.

Although the value of the Aug. 10 transaction was not disclosed, the president of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu, said the operation had covered the $51.8 million debt that the media company had with the government, ElMasacre.com reported. The group of investors include media mogul José Luis Corripio and Juan Bautista Vicini Lluberes, whose family owns the sugar giant Vicini Group, ABC.es reminded.

The Central Bank seized the Editora Listín Diario in 2003 after its owner Ramón Báez Figeoroa, who at the time was also the head of the Dominican Republic's second largest bank, was accused of fraud. The government negotiated the newspaper's sale for more than a year.

In a statement published in the newspaper, the new shareholders said they remained committed "to preserve and be faithful to the historical legacy of Listin Diario."

The daily, which was founded in 1889, has an average circulation of 60,000 copies.