Le Temps: NZZ not interested in purchase

The media houses Tamedia and Ringier had put the newspaper up for sale on October 8. A dozen dossiers have been received so far, Ringier spokesman Edi Estermann told the SDA news agency on Friday. The media company did not provide any details on the possible takeover candidates. Already known, however, is the interest of the business newspaper L'Agefi and Jean-Claude Biver, chairman of the board of the watch company Hublot. The media diversity holding of Christoph Blocher and Tito Tettamanti also showed interest. According to Estermann, the dossiers are currently being examined and selected according to predefined criteria.

NZZ does not make a purchase offer

As part of the ongoing sales process, NZZ has also been mentioned several times as a potential buyer. However, after a detailed review, it has decided not to submit a purchase offer to the current majority owners, according to a statement from the media company. A detailed explanation of this decision is not available. The decision was based on the fact that NZZ's journalistic activities are primarily focused on the German-speaking region. An expansion into French-speaking Switzerland is not part of the strategy.

The NZZ is interested in continuing and possibly expanding its existing cooperation with Le Temps in the event of a change of ownership, the statement continues. There are already important cooperations, for example in the area of advertising sales.