| Mafra, a.s. | |
| Type: | Joint-stock |
| Location City: | Prague |
| Location Country: | Czech Republic |
| Industry: | Publishing, Internet |
| Products: | Newspapers, Magazines |
| Parent: | Kaprain Chemical, Cyprus |
Mafra is a Czech media group that publishes printed and internet media, headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic. From 2013 to 2023, it was a subsidiary of Agrofert holding conglomerate owned by trust of Andrej Babiš, the former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Mafra owns newspapers Mladá fronta Dnes and Lidové noviny.[1] [2] In September 2023, Agrofert sold the group to the Czech billionaire investor Karel Pražák (Kaprain Group). [3]
Founded in 1992 in Prague, Mafra was acquired in 1994 by the German group Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft GmbH (RBDV)[4] [5] (the publisher of the Rheinische Post), which bought Mafra from French press group Socpresse. In 2013, Mafra was acquired by Czech holding group Agrofert, which is owned by Andrej Babiš.[6]
Mafra publishes the daily newspaper Mladá fronta Dnes, which – with 224,000 circulation as of March 2011 – is the second largest newspaper in the Czech Republic,[7] after tabloid Blesk. Fully owned subsidiary Lidové noviny, a.s. publishes daily newspaper Lidové noviny with circulation of 44,000, 60% subsidiary Metro Česká republika, a.s. publishes a freesheet Czech edition of Metro with a circulation of 266,000.[8]
As of February 2011, Mladá fronta Dnes is the third most visited Czech website on the internet, with 3.7 million unique visitors per month.[9]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mafra benefited disproportionately from state aid.[10]