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The Baltic News Service (BNS) is the largest news agency operating in the Baltic States. Founded in April 1990, by a group of students (the founding CEO was Allan Martinson), it sought to inform foreign correspondents in Moscow of developments in the Baltic States' struggles for independence from the Soviet Union. Within a few months, it had been recognized by numerous Western media sources.

Format and purpose

BNS is a holding company for separate organizations in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

BNS disseminates news in Russian and English (as well as the domestic languages of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian) via the internet and by other means. Subscribers include media, financial, industrial, and government institutions in the Baltic States. BNS also collaborates with Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and Interfax.

History

Founded in April 1990 by a group of students, BNS was wholly owned by the Finnish media group Alma Media from 2001 until 2014. In 2003, the BNS publishing company in Estonia, BNS Kirjastus, bought the bankrupt news agency ETA (Eesti Teadeteagentuur).

In 2013, shareholders decided to exit the business leading to a chain of sales during the following year. February/March 2014 saw Estonian Uudisvoog OÜ, a subsidiary company of private capital fund Koha Capital OÜ, purchasing BNS. It was owned by the Estonian radio media mogul Ilmar Kompus who is also the proprietor of the Sky Media Group radio stations.

Later, BNS was acquired by Eesti Meedia (now Postimees Group), which is owned by Estonian entrepreneur Margus Linnamäe through investment firm MM Group. In late 2015, BNS was effectively joined by LETA (Latvia's formerly state-owned news agency) when UP Invest (a subsidiary of MM Group) acquired most shares in the Latvian agency. To satisfy regulatory concerns, Eesti Meedia sold Latvian BNS operations (subsequently renamed Latvian News Service) and media monitoring service Mediju Monitorings to a third-party Estonian company named AMP Investeeringud on 31 August 2015. Later, it was discovered that most employees of the Latvian News Service and Mediju Monitorings were transferred to LETA, but was not disclosed to the Latvian authorities at the time of the acquisition. On 18 January 2019, the Competition Council of Latvia imposed a €32,200 fine on MM Group.

See also

• Baltic News Network

References

1. ^ Malinauskas, Skirmantas (14 November 2013). "Žiniasklaidos koncernas „Alma Media" apsisprendė parduoti BNS įmonių grupę". 15min (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 1 January 2025.
2. "Vieninteliu BNS akcininku tapo vienas 15min.lt savininkų Margusas Linnamae". 15min (in Lithuanian). 2 June 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
3. Kauppalehti osti kokonaan Baltian johtavan uutistoimisto BNS:n Archived 8 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Press release by Alma Media Oyj, 5 December 2001. (In Finnish.)
4. "BNS ostis ära ETA kaubamärgi". 4 March 2003.
5. "BNS ostis uudisteagentuuri ETA kaubamärgi".
6. "Parduota BNS įmonių grupė". 15min (in Lithuanian). 28 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
7. "BNS grupė parduota Estijos bendrovei „Uudisvoog"". 15min (in Lithuanian). 3 March 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
8. Alma Media myy BNS:n Archived 8 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Press release by Alma Media Oyj, 3 March 2014. (In Finnish.)
9. ^ "Competition watchdog okays sale of LETA news agency to MM Grupp". eng.lsm.lv. Public broadcasting of Latvia. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
10. ^ "Owner of LETA news agency fined over 2015 acquisition deal". eng.lsm.lv. Public broadcasting of Latvia. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2022.

External links

• BNS Estonia
• BNS Lithuania
• BNS Latvia

• 1990 establishments in Lithuania
• News agencies based in Estonia
• Mass media companies of Latvia
• Mass media companies of Lithuania
• Organizations based in Tallinn
• Holding companies of Estonia