Mediafin

Mediafin is a Belgian media group focused on financial, economic and investment-oriented publishing. The company was created in 2005 after De Persgroep and Rossel acquired the publishing business then known as Publisher Tijd. Following the transaction, the business was renamed Mediafin, establishing a jointly owned media venture serving Belgium’s Dutch-speaking and French-speaking markets. Mediafin’s principal publishing assets are two daily financial newspapers: De Tijd, published in Dutch, and L’Echo, published in French. Both titles cover business, companies, financial markets, economics, politics and investment-related subjects. Their positioning gives Mediafin a specialized role within Belgium’s newspaper industry, with an audience that includes investors, executives, entrepreneurs, professionals and readers seeking detailed economic and market information. The group also publishes two investor-oriented weekly magazines, De Belegger in Dutch and L’Investisseur in French. The company’s structure changed in 2018 when De Persgroep sold its 50 percent interest in Mediafin to Flemish media group Roularta. As part of the broader transaction, Roularta transferred its 50 percent interest in Medialaan to De Persgroep, with De Persgroep paying €217.5 million in cash. After this exchange, Roularta became Mediafin’s co-owner alongside Rossel, while De Persgroep exited the ownership structure. Mediafin expanded beyond conventional newspaper and magazine publishing in 2022 by acquiring openthebox, a business-to-business data platform. Openthebox aggregates and visualizes publicly available information on more than three million companies and is particularly oriented toward banking, private equity and mergers-and-acquisitions users. The acquisition broadened Mediafin’s activities from editorial content into structured company information and professional data services. By 2025, Mediafin fully owned openthebox. Based in Brussels, Mediafin operates across Belgium’s two principal language communities. Its portfolio combines subscription-based financial journalism, investor publications and business-information services. The group’s identity is therefore built around specialized economic content rather than mass-market general-interest publishing. Its Dutch- and French-language titles provide parallel editorial offerings, while openthebox adds a data-oriented product for professional users. Mediafin remains active as a privately owned Belgian media company, although detailed financial results, executive information and a corporate website URL are not identified in the supplied reference material.

Mediafin was established in Belgium in 2005 when De Persgroep and Rossel acquired the publishing company Publisher Tijd. The acquired business was renamed Mediafin, and the two owners each retained a 50 percent share. The new group was organized around specialized financial and economic publishing rather than general-interest media. Its core portfolio consists of two daily newspapers serving Belgium’s principal language communities. De Tijd is the Dutch-language title, while L’Echo is the French-language counterpart. Together, the newspapers report on companies, financial markets, investment, economics and business affairs. Mediafin also publishes two weekly investor magazines: De Belegger in Dutch and L’Investisseur in French. This bilingual structure enables the group to address comparable audiences in both the Flemish and French-speaking parts of Belgium. A major ownership change took place in 2018. De Persgroep sold its 50 percent interest in Mediafin to Roularta, a Flemish media group. The transfer formed part of a larger transaction under which Roularta sold its 50 percent stake in Medialaan to De Persgroep. De Persgroep paid €217.5 million in cash in connection with the wider exchange. After the deal, Roularta joined Rossel as Mediafin’s two equal owners. Mediafin later diversified its activities beyond newspapers and magazines. In 2022, it acquired openthebox, a business-to-business platform that collects, organizes and visualizes public information about more than three million companies. The platform is aimed particularly at professional users in banking, private equity and mergers and acquisitions. Its addition gave Mediafin a data-service activity alongside its established editorial brands. By 2025, Mediafin had full ownership of openthebox. The company is headquartered in Brussels and continues to operate as a Belgian financial-media group. Its history reflects a progression from a jointly owned newspaper publisher to a broader specialist information company combining bilingual financial journalism, investment publications and structured corporate data. The available reference material does not identify Mediafin’s founders, named executives, detailed financial performance or a verified official website address.

• 2025

  Full ownership of openthebox

  [1]Mediafinen.wikipedia.org

  Mediafin fully owned the openthebox platform, strengthening its business-information offering.

• 2022

  Openthebox is acquired

  [1]Mediafinen.wikipedia.org

  Mediafin expanded into professional business data through the acquisition of openthebox.

• 2018

  Roularta becomes a co-owner

  [1]Mediafinen.wikipedia.org

  Roularta acquired De Persgroep’s 50 percent interest in Mediafin as part of a broader transaction involving Medialaan.

• 2005

  Mediafin is established

  [1]Mediafinen.wikipedia.org

  De Persgroep and Rossel acquired Publisher Tijd and renamed the business Mediafin, with each company holding half of the group.

A bilingual Belgian specialist publisher serving investors, business professionals and economically engaged readers through financial journalism, investment publications and company-data services.

• Dutch-language financial daily newspaper

  De Tijd

  De Tijd is Mediafin’s Dutch-language daily financial newspaper. It covers Belgian and international business, companies, markets, economics, investment and related political developments. The title is positioned for readers who need specialized economic reporting, including investors, entrepreneurs, executives and professional audiences.

• French-language financial daily newspaper

  L’Echo

  L’Echo is Mediafin’s French-language daily financial newspaper and the group’s counterpart to De Tijd. Its editorial scope includes financial markets, companies, economic policy, business affairs and investment information for French-speaking readers in Belgium.

• Dutch-language investor weekly magazine

  De Belegger

  De Belegger is a Dutch-language weekly magazine focused on investors. It forms part of Mediafin’s specialist investment publishing portfolio and complements the broader daily financial coverage of De Tijd with material oriented toward investment decisions and investor interests.

• French-language investor weekly magazine

  L’Investisseur

  L’Investisseur is the French-language counterpart to De Belegger. The weekly publication serves French-speaking investors and extends Mediafin’s bilingual coverage of investment and financial topics.

• Business data platform

  openthebox

  Openthebox is a business-to-business data platform acquired by Mediafin in 2022. It aggregates and visualizes public information on more than three million companies. Its principal user groups include banks, private-equity firms and professionals involved in mergers and acquisitions. Mediafin fully owned the platform by 2025.

• 2022

  Acquisition of opentheboxM&A

  Background

  Mediafin sought to extend its specialist information activities beyond editorial publishing into professional company data.

  Action taken

  Mediafin acquired openthebox, a platform aggregating and visualizing public information on more than three million companies.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition added a business-data service aimed at banking, private equity and M&A users; Mediafin fully owned openthebox by 2025.

  Source

• 2018

  Transfer of De Persgroep’s Mediafin stake to RoulartaM&A

  Background

  De Persgroep and Roularta reorganized their interests in Belgian media assets. De Persgroep held half of Mediafin, while Roularta held half of Medialaan.

  Action taken

  De Persgroep sold its 50 percent Mediafin stake to Roularta. In the wider exchange, Roularta sold its 50 percent Medialaan stake to De Persgroep.

  Aftermath

  Roularta became Mediafin’s co-owner alongside Rossel, while De Persgroep exited Mediafin’s ownership structure.

  Cash consideration paid by De Persgroep in the wider transaction. €217.5 million (2018 transaction)

  Source

1. 1Mediafinen.wikipedia.org