The story
Founded by MAF and Socpresse in 1992.1
Mafra was founded in Prague in 1992. In 1994, it was acquired by the German Rheinisch-Bergische Druckerei- und Verlagsgesellschaft, publisher of the Rheinische Post.
In 2005, Mafra acquired a majority stake in the Czech music television channel Óčko, marking the company's entry into television.
In 2013, Agrofert, then owned by businessman and politician Andrej Babiš, acquired Mafra from its German owner. The takeover was completed in October 2013.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Freedom House reported that Mafra disproportionately benefited from state support.
In September 2023, Agrofert agreed to sell Mafra to Karel Pražák's Kaprain Group. Following regulatory approval, the transaction was completed on 1 February 2024.
In August 2024, Mafra ended the standalone printed edition of Lidové noviny, while its website Lidovky.cz continued operating. The newspaper's Orientace supplement became part of the Saturday edition of Mladá fronta DNES.
In November 2025, Kaprain agreed to sell a 50% stake in Mafra to Tymeprax, owned by businessman Pavel Tykač. The transaction was completed in May 2026, leaving Mafra jointly owned by Kaprain and Tymeprax, each with a 50% stake.
From Wikipedia’s article on Mafra (company), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5