New owner will evaluate reviving Hungarian opposition paper

FILE - In this Oct. 8 2016 file picture a newsstand including Saturday papers with Nepszabadsag daily is pictured in Budapest, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016. Headline of Nepszabadsag reads: "Orban not bothered by helicoptering". It refers to a scandal uncovered by Nepszabadsag about the extravagant travel habits of a top minister in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. A company linked to an ally of Hungary's prime minister says it has bought the company that publishes the main opposition newspaper, which suspended publication weeks ago. The deal, announced Tuesday Oct. 25, 2016 by the Budapest Stock Exchange, seems to confirm concerns that the sale of Mediaworks, publisher of the leftist Nepszabadsag and many other newspapers and magazines, will further increase government influence over Hungarian media and diminish press diversity. (AP Photo/Andras Nagy,file) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2016 file picture a man shows the last printed edition of Nepszabadsag during a demonstration organized to express solidarity with Hungarian political daily Nepszabadsag in Budapest, Hungary. Earlier in the day the publishing company Mediaworks suspended the publication of both the print and online editions of the paper until it comes up with a new business model. A company linked to an ally of Hungary's prime minister says it has bought the company that publishes the main opposition newspaper, which suspended publication weeks ago. The deal, announced Tuesday Oct. 25, 2016 by the Budapest Stock Exchange, seems to confirm concerns that the sale of Mediaworks, publisher of the leftist Nepszabadsag and many other newspapers and magazines, will further increase government influence over Hungarian media and diminish press diversity. (Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP.File ) (The Associated Press)

The new owner of Hungary's main opposition newspaper says it will decide quickly about its possible relaunch after the previous owner suspended publication on Oct. 8.

While Opimus Group has been linked to a close friend of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the company says its does not wish to influence the contents published in the extended media portfolio, including the leftist Nepszabadsag daily, that it purchased Tuesday from Mediaworks.

In recent years, members of Orban's inner circle have set up or taken control of several publications and broadcasters, which now show an unquestioning, pro-government bent.

According to its latest company report, the two largest shareholders in Opimus are registered in the Cayman Islands and Nigeria and the holding company's main activities are in the construction and hotel industries.