Slovenian Competition Protection Agency (AVK) has approved the merger of Dnevnik and Večer, the publishers of the second and third largest daily newspapers in Slovenia. The joint company would have a 40% share on the printed media market. The approval of the Culture Ministry was already issued last December. The two papers each generated around EUR 1.5 million in net profit last year.
According to the AVK the merger was in line with the competition rules. Večer and Dnevnik are meant to continue being published as separate papers. Večer has traditionally had a strong subscriber base in the north-east of the country, while Dnevnik is perceived more as a central Slovenian or Ljubljana-based paper.
According to some estimates, labour cost rationalisation alone will save the companies EUR 2 million. The two papers each generated around EUR 1.5 million in net profit last year.