“Since May 5, 2022, the newspaper El Observador has been part of the investment portfolio of Gerardo Werthein and Gabriel Hochbaum. The first is part of one of the most important business families in Argentina and the second, the main negotiator of the operation, has interests in the Argentine air channel América TV. Researchers analyzed for various Argentine media what are the possible interests in Uruguay of this new actor in the small Uruguayan media map”, indicates M24.
Hochbaum, particularly, integrates the share package of Grupo América, and other media.
Gerardo Werthein “is known as president of the Argentine Olympic Committee for 12 years. He did not participate in the purchase of DirecTV Latin America. He still maintains the judicial process for the separation of assets that, as defined by Forbes Argentina, is one of the largest business conglomerates in his country, with 2,300 million dollars, ”says M24
“For his part, Hochbaum integrates a company with Daniel Vila and José Luis Manzano, and they own half of the share package of Grupo América (América TV, radio La Red, cable channel A24, the news portal a24.com and half of FM Blue). On December 13, the news portal La Política Online reported that this company wants to sell its share package.
And in that same note, he advances: “Meanwhile, Hochbaum seems to betting on concentrating its media segment on the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador, which last May it bought associated with Gerardo Werthein, and bets on growing in that country.” In addition, he owns the financial and commercial information portal El Cronista.
Both businessmen maintain links with President Luis Lacalle, to the point that the three of them posed at the Uruguayan Independence party that was held at the Uruguayan embassy in Argentina.
Research
The journalist Santiago Marino published in Letra P, an Argentine digital media, prepared a report to find out the possible reasons for the purchase of El Observador by businessmen from the neighboring shore.
The researcher Rosario Radakovich and Gustavo Gómez identified some unknowns about the acquisition: impact on the foreignization of media in Uruguay, journalistic offer, editorial line.
But above all, what kind of purchase was attempted: the acquisition “is viewed with concern” because “it seems to be a scheme that aims to have a good relationship with the government in power and in some way protect, surround or shield its investments in the country, Gómez said in the interview.
Identifying Uruguay as a country of protection for Argentine investments is also a line observed by Argentine researchers Iván Schuliaquer and Enrique Carrier, also for the same report.
The second specialist, in particular, points out that the purchase could be more identified with the possibility of positioning El Observador as a reference medium for the region based on an already known brand.
In addition, as the note expresses it literally, “this Argentine investment could harbor certain expectations regarding the debate that exists within the Uruguayan government on enabling the entry of private capital to Antel,” said Shuliaquer, according to the report by M24.
