EU – Baltic States, Latvia, Legislation, Markets and Companies

They submitted their resignations to the chairman of the board of joint-stock company Diena Aleksandrs Tralmaks.

According to Brauna, she and Locmele were asked to immediately leave the newspaper's editing room and were prohibited to speak with employees.

Brauna also said that several other employees submitted their resignations as well, including the respectable commentator Pauls Raudseps, and the editor of the ''SestDiena'' Saturday supplement Dace Smildzina.

As the newspaper itself reports, journalists Guntis Keisels, Sanita Jemberga, Inga Sprinke and Rita Rudusa have also left the newspaper.

According to LETA sources, several other employees of the newspaper are considering leaving as well.

Journalist Gunta Sloga told LETA that the previous management of the newspaper submitted their resignations during a meeting with Tralmaks.

The newspaper's employees were also shocked at the way things escalated – Tralmaks announced that Brauna, Locmele and Raudseps must leave immediately, and were searched by security guards on their way out.

Tralmaks had previously decided to change the management of Latvia's most respectable newspaper, which is proven by the fact that security was specially called in for this afternoon.

The security guards also hassled the newspaper's photographer Uldis Briedis, forcing him to erase all pictures he had taken of the incidents that took place at the newspaper today.

Sloga also told Latvian Radio today that the newspaper's employees are suspicious why the newspaper's new investors – the Rowland family, have not yet officially announced their takeover of the newspaper.

''The newspaper's employees are shocked at what happened. I do not rule out the possibility that more employees could leave Diena,'' Sloga said in an interview.

According to unofficial information, the editor in chief of Dienas Bizness Dace Andersone will be the newspaper's acting editor in chief.

As reported, the newspapers Diena and Dienas Bizness have been acquired by the Rowland family in England, as Tralmaks informed the newspaper's editors today, Internet portal "diena.lv" reports.

The Rowlands had provided a loan so Tralmaks' company Nedela S.A. could buy said newspapers. Now the loan has been restructured and Tralmaks is no longer the owner of these two newspapers.

Tralmaks said that he would continue as the board chairman of Diena and he would be in charge of the company's further development.

Tralmaks though did not present any documents proving the transaction, and said that journalists should turn to the new owners of the newspapers.

Tralmaks announced in a press release that after the transfer of the loan, the Rowland family has become the sole owner of Nedela S.A..

The new owners will also invest shares in the Luxembourg-based "Baltic Media Investments Fund". The Baltic Media fund emerged as a result of cooperation between companies "Cattela" and "Luxembourg Financial Services" and its future goal is to acquire assets of media enterprises in the Baltic States to develop a competitive Baltic media companies' group, Tralmaks said.

Jonathan Rowland said that on behalf of the new investors he is pleased to confirm that the Rowland family has decided to invest into the fund and acquire the leading media group in Latvia.

"I would like to emphasize that for us it is solely an attractive financial investment, Mr. Tralmaks and his future team will remain responsible for the management of the fund and its assets. The region’s economic climate is challenging but in the same more attractive to a liquid financial investor due to low valuations of several quality assets. Rowland family is continuously interested in investing in Latvia and assess investment prospects also elsewhere in the Baltic’s," says Rowland.

The Rowland family, led by Jonathan, 33, and his father, David, 66, was ranked 66th in the "Rich List" of the "Sunday Times" this year with their wealth worth an estimated GBP 639 million.

The Rowlands own the property and investment group Rowland Capital.

A few years ago, Jonathan Rowland said in an interview to "The Independent" that his goal was to set up investment companies specializing in buying out troubled and undervalued companies.

The Rowlands recently entered the banking business by establishing a new company on the basis of the Icelandic group "Kaupthing" that they acquired after it went bankrupt.

The Rowland family is one of the largest donors to Britain's Conservative Party.