Cenzolovka: Changes of editors are coming at N1 and other media of the United Group

Pedro Vargas of Alpac Capital and management United groups (United Group), as Cenzolovka unofficially learns, have an agreement that the actual management of these media will be left to the executive director Pedro Vargas as soon as the money for the purchase is paid to the so-called escrow (temporary) account, which is expected on Friday or by the end of the week.

If that happens, it will mean turning away Brent Sadler from the position of director of Adria News Network, but also potential changes in editorial positions.

The sale has not yet been formally completed, because it has not received all the necessary approvals from regulatory bodies, including the regulatory body in Luxembourg. Despite this, if these early takeover agreements come to fruition, the new buyer will be able to decide the fate of these media outlets right now.

Cenzolovka asked Alpac Capital for a statement on these plans, but by the time this text was published, no response had been received.

Sadler's saddle for N1, Nova and others

Controversy from the start

From the very beginning, this purchase and sale caused concern of the domestic and international public due to the potentially disastrous impact on media freedom in Serbia. The question of the origin of Alpac Capital's money and the connection with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is also raised.

As Raskrikanje recently reminded, Aleksandar Vučić called Pedro Vargas David, the founder of Alpac Capital, his friend at the end of last year. His father was previously, this portal writes, a long-time adviser to former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Audience instruction: How to tell if N1 is muted

The value of the purchase agreement is a secret, but Raskrikanje announced that it is 30 million euros for a dozen media outlets in Serbia and the region. As many as 27 civil society organizations called for the acquisition to be abandoned, drawing attention to the problematic ties of Alpac Capital and their Euronews with capital close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The fact that, according to the Portuguese Express, the contract does not contain guarantees of editorial independence or protection mechanisms in case of political or business pressures is also problematic. In Serbia, additional suspicion is caused by the fact that Euronews operates as a franchise of the state Telekom.

The sale is the end of a process that has been going on since 2025. After the dismissal of Dragan Šolak from the head of United Group, OCCRP published a recording of the conversation between Telekom director Vladimir Lučić and United Group director Sten Miller, in which he talks about Aleksandar Vučić's request that the director Aleksandra Subotic be replaced and that the work of these media outlets be brought under control.

Subotic was fired in February 2026, and the media were merged into the Adria News Network brand under the management of Brent Sadler. Personnel changes in N1 followed immediately after that. The editors and directors previously unsuccessfully tried to buy the media themselves, while Nova and Radar employees, anticipating possible pressure and censorship, founded a union in May.

Source: Cenzolovka

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