A-pressen

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A-pressen AS
Type	Private
Founded	1948
Headquarters	Oslo, Norway
Key people	Alf Hildrum (CEO)
Area served	Norway and Russia
Industry	Media
Employees	2,635 (2007)
Parent	Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions Telenor Fritt Ord
Website	www.a-pressen.no

A-pressen is one of the three large media companies in Norway (the other two are Schibsted and Orkla Media) and was established on May 27, 1948 with the name Norsk Arbeiderpresse (lit: Norwegian Labour Press). It got its present name in 1994. A-pressen is whole or partial owner of 50 local- and regional newspaper with online newspapers and printing presses, local TV channels and local radio channels, including a 50% ownership of TV2 and its own news agency, Avisenes Nyhetsbyrå. The corporation also owns newspapers in Russia.

[edit] History

The company was originally created to finance the Norwegian labour newspapers owned by the labour unions and Labour Party. In 1990 the company was refinanced and transferred to a corporation with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions and the Labour Party as the largest owners. When A-pressen bough part of TV2 the Labour Party chose to sell their ownership in the company, and instead the Møller Group, Finnish Sanoma and Telenor bought part of the company and it was listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In the end Sanoma sold their stocks, the company was delisted and it is now owned by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (45.2%), Telenor (44.8%) and the Foundation Fritt Ord (10.1%). The company has had three CEOs, Johan Ona (1948-1974), Einar Olsen (1974-1987) and Alf Hildrum (1987-).^[1]