Said Paiboon Damrongchaitham, CEO, GMM Grammy: "We never intended to interfere with the internal working of the newspapers."
According to an industry source, the initial purchase of 32.23 per cent holding of Matichon and 23.6 per cent of Post Publishing also appeared politically motivated, given GMM's close links with the Thai prime minister.
Akimasa Baba, COO, Media Palette, said: "Even though GMM Grammy may have intended to create a synergy between the entertainment and newspaper business, there was a backlash because the intention over the buy-outs was not clear and led to speculation."
Paiboon said the shares were sold back to Matichon at purchase price to demonstrate that GMM's intentions were sincere: "With Post Publishing, talks are still on about the future course of action and senior managers are due to meet to discuss issues pertaining to share acquisition."
When asked if this kind of partnership would be useful for the media industry, Akimasa said: "As long as GMM Grammy can show distinct vision and develop synergy between its entertainment business and newspaper business, stakeholders would accept and support the buy-outs. It's important to create such synergy by involving all the stakeholders and by developing a win-win relationship." sm
