Ceremony held at Hürriyet for transfer of management to Demirören Group

ISTANBUL

Doğan Group honorary chair Aydın Doğan symbolically marked the transition of Hürriyet to the Demirören Group on April 9, as the sale of the holding’s media assets was finalized.

Before the ceremony at Hürriyet’s Istanbul headquarters, Demirören Holding board chair Erdoğan Demirören presented a plaque to Aydın Doğan.

The handover ceremony hosted Doğan, Demirören Holding board deputy chair Yıldırım Demirören, his wife Revna Demirören and their children, Demirören Holding board members Meltem Demirören Oktay and Tayfun Demirören and their families, and Demirören Holding executive board chair of media Mehmet Soysal.

Staff members and executives of Hürriyet were also present at the ceremony.

Hürriyet editor-in-chief Fikret Bila said the handover of Hürriyet from the Doğan Group to the Demirören Group is an “event marking history for the Turkish press.”

“We know both families, who are two well-established families of the country’s business and media industries. They have been friends for 60 years and I hope this transfer will be good for both families,” Bila said.

“Hürriyet is the biggest institution of the Turkish press and has an important place not only in Turkey but also in Europe and the world. We are all proud to work here. I am confident that Hürriyet will continue to pioneer and achieve many successes, as it has done until today,” he added.

In his own speech, Doğan said he set off on his journey in the media 40 years ago and vowed that the friendships he made during this period will stay permanent.

“I am only bidding farewell to this building, not to my friends,” he added.

“We started sale talks with the Demirören family without pressure and of my own will. The new owner of this publishing group is now the Demirören family,” Doğan said.

“We have carried the flagship of the Turkish media safely for a 40-year journey. It was not an easy journey. On the contrary, it was sometimes quite a rough path. But I did my best to carry the flagship of the Turkish media safely to its harbor,” he added.

Yıldırım Demirören said the handover was “not a surprise” because the friendship of the two families dates back 50 years.

“Aydın Doğan is a figure who has left his mark on Turkey and our families have been friends for half a century. We would like to thank the Doğan family for bringing all these hardworking and passionate press members together and we would like to say ‘welcome’ to them,” Demirören said. 

He also called on everyone to be free from prejudices.

“There have been many speculative remarks in the media and I know many people have question marks in their minds. I would like to underline that we will answer them all together. My only request from you is to keep yourself away from prejudices. We will carry this flagship together with great honor,” Demirören said.

Doğan Holding had on March 22 first announced the talks with Demirören Holding for the sale and transfer of its visual and print media components for an operating value of $1.1 billion and a share value of $890 million.