Eyjan, one of the last fully independent Icelandic news sites, has been utterly bought out by Pressan, a news blog owned in part by former Progressive Party politician Björn Ingi Hrafnsson and an insurance company.
Vefpressan ehf, which is the company that oversees Pressan, announced on their site that they have bought all shares in Eyjan Media ehf, the company that runs Eyjan. Former Grapevine editor Sveinn Birkir Björnsson will be replaced as news editor by journalist and former Social Democrat manager Karl Th. Birgisson.
The statement on Pressan about the purchase says the exchange was made to “increase the company’s presence on the Icelandic media market.” Vefpressan is also responsible for the online store Bútik, as well as Bleikt, a website that is apparently directed at young women.
Björn Ingi Hrafnsson, who is the director of Vefpressan and was at one time a Reykjavík city councilman for the Progressive Party but chose to resign under allegations of misappropriating city funds, will be Eyjan’s new publisher and director. More on Björn Ingi can be read here.
Vefpressan itself is actually owned by a number of parties, among them Salt Investment (bankster Róbert Wessman) and the insurance company VÍS, which according to DV owns a majority stake in the company.
Jón Garðar Hreiðarsson, one of the founding members of Eyjan, told Pressan that he has had an enjoyable time with Eyjan, but the time had come to close this chapter of his career.
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