Ivo Prokopiev and Filip Harmandjiev, reached a buyback agreement with Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt (VHB) on lVHB's 50-per-cent stake in Bulgarian media group Economedia that the German company acquired three years ago, Dnevnik daily reported on October 17.

Economedia reached a phase in its development, which allowed it to continue to a next higher level in the media business, Michael Stollarz, head of the holding management unit at VHB, was quoted as saying by Dnevnik. The German company was to continue to co-operate with its Bulgarian partner, he said.

The ownership change was to affect Economedia’s plans to develop the company by expanding the scope of its media activities, with no restrictions regarding the industries where the company would seek to operate, including electronic media and outdoor advertising. Internet-based projects were also among the priorities. The biggest investment planned for 2008 was the construction of a company-owned printing house, Dnevnik said.

Economedia, which publishes the Dnevnik daily and Capital weekly newspapers, and is a majority holder of Sofia Echo Media, was also considering going public on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange – Sofia.