Hunnewell Partners announces decision to sell stake in Imedi TV

Georgian businessman Irakli Rukhadze has announced that he and his business partners have made the decision to part ways with Imedi TV, calling it one of the most difficult and emotional decisions of his life.

Although Rukhadze said owning a television station had never been part of his plans - and some of his partners were strongly against the move - they agreed to buy Imedi, despite recognising the political risks involved in media ownership in Georgia.

“In this statement, I will try to explain a difficult and emotional decision that my partners and I have made regarding Imedi TV. In 2018, when the process of returning Badri Patarkatsishvili’s assets was nearing completion, Badri’s family asked us to purchase Imedi from them. Although owning a television company in Georgia was not part of my plans, and some of my partners were outright opposed to this step, we agreed to purchase Imedi from Badri’s family”, he said.

“I have been a member of Imedi’s Supervisory Board since 2003 and I have clearly understood that owning Imedi will be risky for our business group. We firmly believe that business should be separated from politics, and therefore we have always avoided involvement in political processes. Separating Imedi from politics, however, has always been difficult”, he continued.

According to Rukhadze, in 2018 he and his partners set two main goals for Imedi - first, to safeguard Georgia’s stability and democratic development by preventing the return to power of the United National Movement and its affiliated groups; and second, to operate the station with minimal interference in editorial policy by relying on a strong management team.

Rukhadze stressed that Imedi TV was never intended to provide unconditional support to the ruling party, but supporting the Georgian Dream against the United National Movement was considered a justified choice based on past governance records.

He stressed that Imedi was never intended to serve as an unconditional supporter of the ruling Georgian Dream party, but argued that supporting Georgian Dream against the United National Movement was an easy decision due to what he described as stark differences between the two parties on issues such as human rights, freedom of speech, the justice system, the prison system, business freedom, peace, and economic development.

“Imedi TV’s purpose has never been unconditional support for the Georgian Dream. However, supporting the Georgian Dream against the United National Movement was an easy decision. How can these two parties even be compared in categories such as human rights, freedom of speech, the judiciary, the penitentiary system, business freedom, peace, economic development based on freedom and peace, healthcare, the education system, and so on?! The party [UNM] whose leaders imprisoned nearly 10% of their population under unbearable conditions cannot claim the right to govern the country again”, he said.

Rukhadze claimed that over the past seven to eight years, those objectives have largely been achieved. He stated that the United National Movement and its satellite parties have effectively collapsed, and that Imedi played an important role in this process. He also said the risk of Georgia being drawn into war has significantly decreased, both due to the Georgian government’s efforts and changing international dynamics.

“It can be said that over the past 7–8 years, we have more or less achieved our goals. Today, the United National Movement and its satellite parties have effectively collapsed. In this process, Imedi also played an important role. The risk of Georgia being drawn into war has also been significantly reduced. Domestically, through great effort and with the support of Georgian society, the Georgian government managed to prevent the country from becoming a party to the war. Internationally as well, Trump’s America declares that it is actively working to end the war in Ukraine. Therefore, the risk of destabilizing the country has been reduced to a minimum”, Rukhadze noted.

The statement also underlined that the TV business has no economic value for Hunnewell Partners and instead creates additional challenges for the group’s core activity - investment in Georgia’s economy.

“As I have stated publicly many times and mentioned above, this was the main reason why we agreed to own a television company. Otherwise, the television business holds no economic interest for us as a business group (no matter how emotionally important Imedi is to me personally). On the contrary, it creates additional difficulties for us and harms our core activity - investing in Georgia’s economy”, he continued.

After what he described as long and intense consultations with his partners, Rukhadze announced the decision to leave Imedi.

He said the decision is personally painful, as he has been connected to Imedi and its employees for more than 20 years, describing the period as one filled with pride and emotion. He praised the channel’s resilience, recalling that after being raided and seized under former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s government, Imedi “rose like a phoenix” and now reportedly has four times more viewers than its closest competitor.

Rukhadze expressed gratitude to Imedi’s audience, stating that more than half of Georgian television viewers receive their news about Georgia and the world from the channel.

He also emphasized that Imedi is not defined by equipment or licenses, but by its people, thanking employees for their dedication and saying he would miss their collaboration, debates, celebrations, and daily interactions.

Rukhadze announced that finding a new owner was not easy, as he sought a buyer willing to support the station financially in case of budget shortfalls and to preserve the active role of the existing management in editorial policy.

Ultimately, he said the decision was made in favor of Prime Media Global, a company that has worked with Imedi for years in advertising sales. Under the new agreement, Prime Media Global will acquire 50% of Imedi, while the remaining 50% will be transferred to Maka Lomidze and her four deputies.

Rukhadze concluded by wishing success to Lomidze and her team, the new owners, and the country as a whole. He also expressed hope that Georgia will eventually see the rise of a moral and professional opposition capable of serving as a worthy counterbalance to Georgian Dream, in pursuit of Georgia’s European future and national prosperity.