PRISA and GNM agree on strategic alliances in Colombia

PRISA and Grupo Nacional de Medios (GNM) have signed an agreement to work together to bid for free-to-air TV licenses in Colombia.

The two groups also agreed to examine alternative business models in the print media sector, publishing business, Internet, and marketing of products thanks to the unique strengths of each of the partners.

According to Jaime Polanco, PRISA's head of strategy and corporative development: "This is a further step for PRISA towards growth in Colombia, where we are present in publishing, radio and media sales. We believe that the country's general situation, and particularly the economic situation, over the past few years, provides an unrivalled range of opportunities for growth. What's more, the Grupo Nacional de Medios, is the best strategic ally we could have, thanks to their knowledge of the situation on the ground in Colombia and throughout the country's regions, thanks to their experience in this market, as well as their deep respect for press independence and the credibility of their products."

GNM chair Luis Miguel de Bedout said: "GNM is a strategic alliance of a number of media companies in Colombia, who publish not just the leading daily papers in their regions, but also specialised papers, weeklies, free papers magazines and internet portals. The alliance with Grupo PRISA, the most important Spanish-language media conglomerate, will allow us to create a dynamic and vibrant company and will allow us to market content across different media outlets."

PRISA is the world's leading Spanish and Portuguese-language media group in the fields of education, information and entertainment. Present in 22 countries, it reaches 43 million users through its global brands El País, 40 Principales, Santillana and Alfaguara. It's position in Brazil and Portugal and growth among the Hispanic community in the US have given the group an Ibero-American dimension and has opened up a potential global market of 700 million people. PRISA operates in Colombia through Caracol Radio -absolute market leader - Editorial Santillana, y la Fundación Santillana.

Grupo Nacional de Medios (GNM) is made up of the newspaper groups El Colombiano, El País, Vanguardia Liberal, El Universal and La República, the leading titles in the country's main cities. Together they manage the news agency COLPRENSA and are shareholders in Periódicos Asociados S.A., a company which publishes magazines and newspapers. Grupo Nacional de Medios is currently active in developing successful mass-market dailies at a national level.