Praha - The battle over the purchase of one of the biggest publishing houses in the country is not over yet. And it just got more interesting with the certified richest Czech joining the fray.

Economia, publisher of financial daily Hospodářské noviny, magazine Marketing a Media, economic weekly Ekonom and several other specialized magazines, has been for sale for some time now.

German share-holder Verlagsgruppe Handelsblatt, owner of Economia, has been processing all the offers it has received. One of them comes from the Czech billionaire Petr Kellner, owner of PPF Investments group.

"It is true, PPF Investments has indeed expressed its interest in Economia," PPF media representative Jan Piskáček confirmed to Aktuálně.cz.

Petr Kellner's name is related to a number of media companies. Renowned magazine Euro is among Kellner´s latest investments.

Mladá fronta mounts a serious bid

According to the Tyden.cz online server, it is Mladá fronta that has become the leading candidate.

Publishing house Mladá fronta (not to be mistaken with the daily Mladá Fronta Dnes, which is owned by MAFRA)  has a portfolio that includes daily E15 and magazine Strategie. It is alleged that Mladá fronta has made the biggest bid, which seems to be a decisive factor for share-holder Handelsblatt.

The property background of Mladá fronta is however somewhat hazy; the owner is an offshore company called the European Financial Trust, registered on the island of Dominica.

According to journalist Fabian Golgo, who used to work for the publisher, the company is managed by entrepreneur František Savov. His name is linked to the loss of CZK 0.5 billion in Czech Consolidation Agency.