Businessman Irakli Rukhadze has released a statement regarding Hunnewell Partners’ departure from Tele-Imedi.

According to Rukhadze, “After long and intensive consultations with my partners, we have decided that, given the current situation, the most reasonable solution is to part ways with our investment in Imedi.”

He added that Prime Media Global, a company that has collaborated with Imedi for many years on advertising sales, will acquire 50% of Imedi, while the remaining 50% will be transferred to Maka Lomidze and her four deputies.

Rukhadze’s Statement:

“In this statement, I will try to explain the difficult and emotional decision my partners and I made regarding Tele-Imedi (‘Imedi’).

In 2018, when the process of returning Badri Patarkatsishvili’s assets was nearing completion, his family asked us to purchase Imedi from them.

Although owning a television station in Georgia was not part of my plans, and some of my partners were completely opposed to this step, we agreed to buy Imedi from Badri’s family.

Since 2003, I have been a member of Imedi’s Supervisory Board and fully understood that owning Imedi was a risky endeavor for our business group. We strongly believe that business should be separated from politics, and therefore we avoided involvement in political processes. Nevertheless, separating Imedi from politics has always been a challenge.

Therefore, in 2018, my partners and I agreed on two primary goals:

1. Imedi would serve as a guardian of the country’s stability and democratic development. This primarily meant preventing the ‘National Movement’ and its affiliates from returning to power, destabilizing the country, or seizing Imedi again. Since 2022, ‘destabilization’ has also included the risk of Georgia re-entering the war with Russia;

2. Imedi would operate with minimal editorial interference, relying on a strong management team focused on achieving the first goal, thereby minimizing the risk of political interference affecting our business.

Imedi was never intended to provide unconditional support for the ‘Georgian Dream.’ However, supporting the ‘Georgian Dream’ against the ‘National Movement’ was a reasonable and acceptable decision. It is impossible to compare these two parties on critical issues such as human rights, freedom of speech, the judiciary, the penitentiary system, business freedom, peace, economic development based on freedom and stability, healthcare, education, and so forth. Parties whose leaders imprisoned nearly 10% of the population under inhumane conditions cannot claim a legitimate right to govern the country again.

It can be said that over the past 7-8 years, we have largely achieved our goals. Today, the ‘National Movement’ and its satellite parties have effectively collapsed. In this process, Imedi played an important role. The risk of Georgia entering the war has been significantly reduced. Domestically, through great effort, the Georgian government, with the support of society, managed to prevent Georgia from being drawn into the conflict. Internationally, Trump’s administration has also stated that it is actively working to end the war in Ukraine. Consequently, the threat of destabilization has been minimized.

As I have publicly stated several times, this was the main reason we agreed to take ownership of the television station. Otherwise, the station did not serve an economic interest for our business group (no matter how significant Imedi is to me personally). On the contrary, it created additional challenges and distracted from our core business - investing in Georgia’s economy.

After long and intense consultations with my partners, we concluded that in today’s situation, the most rational solution is to part ways with Imedi.

This decision is extremely difficult for me personally, as over twenty emotional and pride-filled years connect me to Imedi and its staff. Throughout these years, Imedi repeatedly demonstrated to friends and adversaries alike that it was a force to be reckoned with.

Following the raid and seizure orchestrated by Saakashvili’s government, Imedi rose like a phoenix from the ashes of despair. Today, it has four times as many viewers as the next largest competitor. More than half of Georgia’s television audience relies on Imedi to learn what is happening in the country and the world. I am deeply grateful to our viewers for this trust.

My greatest regret is the professional separation from Imedi’s staff (I hope personal friendships will continue). Imedi is not equipment, a frequency, or a license. Imedi is its people, and it is because of them that the station remained the strongest and most reliable over the years. Working with you has been an extraordinary privilege. I will greatly miss our meetings, debates, shared joys and frustrations, new ideas and projects, and celebrating our victories. I will miss visiting Lyubliana Street.

Finding a new owner for Imedi was not easy. The new owner had to commit to financing Imedi in the event of budget shortfalls and to maintain the existing management’s active role in editorial policy. Ultimately, the choice fell on Prime Media Global, a company that has collaborated with Imedi on advertising sales for many years. This company will acquire 50% of Imedi, while 50% will be transferred to Maka Lomidze and her four deputies.

I wish success to Maka and her entire team, to Imedi’s new owner, and finally to our country. I hope that instead of the ‘National Movement,’ moral, intelligent, and professional patriots will emerge who can provide dignified opposition to the ‘Georgian Dream’ and work toward a European future focused on our nation’s welfare.”