DAPD takes over French-language service from Associated Press
The German news agency DAPD will take over the French-language service of the Associated Press (AP), which is based in Paris. AP's French-language newsroom in Switzerland is also affected by the takeover.
Together with AP France, DAPD is also acquiring the worldwide rights to the French-language AP services. This was announced by the DAPD Group on Thursday in Berlin, according to SDA. According to its own information, DAPD is now the largest AP partner worldwide following the purchase of AP Germany in December 2009. The price that DAPD is paying the US Associated Press for its French subsidiary was not disclosed.
The new owners of AP France now want to expand the domestic service into a nationwide reporting service. Martin Vorderwülbecke, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DAPD, was quoted in the communiqué as saying that the successful merger of DDP and AP Germany had encouraged the company to take similar steps in France.
AP France also includes AP's editorial office in French-speaking Switzerland. A total of six journalists currently work for it in Lausanne and Bern.
