Turkey's biggest media brand Hürriyet, both in print and digital journalism, strives to be the leader in future, is taking important steps in this regard. As Hürriyet continues to be a respectable newspaper, continue to add value to its readers and advertisers, the digital field continues to produce new projects without stopping and tirelessly. Hürriyet will continue to offer products that recognize the reader well and respond to their wishes in web-pocket-tablet environments, not just printed media.​

The Board of Directors of Pronto Media Holding which is a subsidiary of Trader Media East Ltd (“TME") that owned by 97.29% by the Group, has decided to discontinue the digital operations in its territory on 22 November 2017 due to the operational performance below the desired level. There are companies that continue to operate in different sectors and markets from TME affiliates. Detailed information about these companies is included in Footnotes 1 and 2 of in our financial statements.​

In accordance with the “Law On Supporting Research, Development And Designing Activities" numbered 5746, the application we made to the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology for R&D Center has been approved and our Company has obtained a “R&D Center Certificate". Accordingly, our Company is thus entitled to benefit from incentives and exemptions granted to R&D Centers in accordance with the provisions of Law numbered 5746. The said R&D Center Certificate has been delivered to our Company on November 3, 2017. As of today, a significant part of the projects initiated within the Company is being carried out within the scope of the R & D center and starting from 2018, beneficial incentives have started to be utilized.​

Doğan Holding has decided to sell its shares (with the additional shares will be acquired as part of the Agreement) representing 77,66% of the issued capital of Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., of which 552.000.000 shares representing the fully paid 552.000.000 Turkish Liras of issued capital of Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., each with a nominal value of 1 Turkish Lira, each being bearer shares, and  dematerialized with the Merkezi Kayıt Kuruluşu A.Ş. (Central Registry Agency), to Demirören Medya Yatırımları Ticaret A.Ş. (“Demirören") in cash and in a single payment for 155.000.0000 US Dollars selling price (“Selling Price") during Board Meeting dated 06.04.2018 and numbered 2018/14.

Subsequently, permission application by Demirören was performed from the Competition Authority regarding the sale and transfer of shares to be realized within the scope of the Share Sales Agreement ("Agreement") signed with Doğan Holding by Demirören and according to the announcement in Turkish Competition Board's web site (www.rekabet.gov.tr) in line with our Board's decision dated April 6, 2018 no: 2018/14, regarding the sale and transfer of shares to be realized within the scope of the Share Sales Agreement signed with Demirören Medya Yatırımları Ticaret A.Ş.; Turkish Competition Board gave permission for the takeover of full control in Doğan Group companies, including Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., indirectly and finally by Erdoğan Demirören through Demirören Medya Yatırımları Ticaret A.Ş.

​The Company made an announcement on 12 May 2018, for Extraordinary General Assembly dated on June 6, 2018 to determine the members of the Board of Directors.

Doğan Holding, 6 Nisan 2018 tarih ve 2018/14 sayılı toplantısında Hürriyet'in, Glokal Dijital Hizmetler Pazarlama ve Ticaret A.Ş'de (“Glokal") sahip olduğu 10.274.042,93 adet ve Glokal'in ödenmiş sermayesinin %92,00'sini temsil eden payların, Doğan Holding'e veya Doğan Holding'in doğrudan veya dolaylı bağlı ortaklıklarına devri konusunda çalışmalara başlanılmasına ve bu hususta yönetimin yetkili kılınmasına karar vermiştir.

​Buna istinaden Şirket, 14 Mayıs 2018 tarihli Yönetim Kurulu Kararıyla, Glokal'de sahip olduğu ve Glokal'in sermayesinin %92'sini temsil eden 10.274.042,93 adet ve tutarındaki payların tamamını 76.251.213,31 USD'ye Doğan Şirketler Grubu Holding A.Ş.'nin dolaylı bağlı ortaklığı olan Glocal Invest BV'ye sattığını açıklamıştır. ​

At the meeting dated April 6, 2018 and numbered 2018/14, Doğan Holding has announced that 2,044,076 registered shares, 5.11% of Doruk Factoring's paid-up capital, are to be purchased from Hürriyet Gazetecilik ve Matbaacılık A.Ş., in cash and in an advance payment, and will transfer to Doğan Holding or direct or indirect subsidiaries of Doğan Holding, and authorize the management of such shares.

​In this respect, at the Board Meeting dated on May 10, 2018, the Company had announced to sell 2,044,076 registered shares, 5.11% of Doruk Factoring's paid-up capital, to Doğan Şirketler Grubu Holding A.Ş. for a total price of 1,620,882.97 USD. 

Ad market in Turkey has recorded 8% growth in the last 5 years. If it is analyzed on media basis, the growth of the digital ad market in the last 5 years is 23%, while the decrease in the print ad market is 8%. Despite the significant decline in the print ad market, Hürriyet has 34% market share in print ad and 7% market share in the digital ad market.​

During 2017, average daily newspaper circulation in Turkey is decreased by 9.4% when compared to last year. Nevertheless, the average daily circulation of Hürriyet Newspaper in 2017 is decreased only by 7% when compared to 2016, which is below the decrease in market. After this decline, the market share of the newspaper increased by +0.3 percentage points.​

As in all the world as, internet ad revenues in Turkey has a rapid growth. Hürriyet takes an important place among strong content and community sites by specializing in verticals such as Sporarena, Hürriyet Seyahat, Bigpara, Hürriyet Aile, Mahmure, and especially www.hurriyet.com.tr and continuing to increase its investments in these areas. Priority to digitalization in 2017 and new investments such as new ad contents and prioritized digital subscriptions have resulted in significant increases both in number of visitors and session. Hürriyet.com.tr has reached to 1 million unique visitors in 2017 and only 50 million views on Facebook. Thanks to all these investments, as of 2017, the Company has grown its digital income by 33% compared to the previous year.

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