Pro-Erdogan group agrees to buy Hurriyet, CNN Turk

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s Demiroren Holding, an unlisted firm seen as backing President Tayyip Erdogan, has agreed to buy the respected Hurriyet newspaper and broadcaster CNN Turk, an official said, a deal that could further cement media support for the government.

Demiroren, which already owns two pro-government newspapers, has agreed to buy the media arm of Dogan Holding, a Demiroren official told Reuters, declining to be identified because the deal has not yet been made public.

The official did not give a price for the transaction, adding it would be officially announced later on Wednesday. "The talks are progressing and an agreement has been made on the acquisition," the official said. Dogan Holding’s media arm and its octogenarian founder, Aydin Dogan, have long been seen as part of Turkey’s secular establishment.

Erdogan has repeatedly accused the company of bias against his Islamist-rooted ruling AK Party, which the company has denied.