Badri Patarkatsishvili's family releases a statement noting that the family had transferred ownership of Imedi to a company controlled by Hunnewell Partners.

We wish to announce that our family has transferred ownership of Imedi to a company controlled by Hunnewell Partners. The transaction closed in August 2021, following approval from the Georgian National Communications Commission. It involves the transfer of 100% of the shares of Georgian Media Production Group Limited, the holding company of Imedi, to Media Finance Group B.V., a company controlled by Hunnewell Partners.

Our family is honoured to have overseen Imedi over the past several years. Following Badri’s tragic death in 2008, and Imedi’s subsequent unlawful expropriation, we were forced to litigate for several years to confirm our ownership. In the almost ten years since Imedi was restored to our family’s custodianship, we have had the honour of working with the best professionals in the industry within our company and have made an immense effort to develop Imedi as an independent and trustworthy public broadcasting service. Imedi has gone from strength to strength, earning critical plaudits. It is a matter of great pride for the family that Imedi’s commitment to credible and unbiased reporting was widely recognised by the Georgian audience. This is as important to us as it was to Badri in his time.

However, since the family has been no longer principally resident in Georgia over the last few years, the management of the company has been conducted by Irakli Rukhadze, who leads Hunnewell Partners, having previously worked with Badri Patarkatsishvili, and then with our family. Hunnewell Partners shares our belief in the vital contribution Imedi makes to Georgia’s democratic culture and has made a commitment to maintain the highest standards of editorial independence and professionalism at the channel.

We believe that the decision to transfer ownership of Imedi is the right one for Imedi’s viewers and for Georgian society, as well as for our family", - reads the statement issued by Badri Patarkatsishvili's family.