Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp said Tuesday it has agreed to sell Lithuanian news portal lrytas.lt to a company owned by television producer Rolandas Skaisgirys, following an order by Lithuania’s Competition Council to divest the outlet.

The buyer is Admisa, a company owned by Skaisgirys, who is also chairman of the board of Lietuvos Rytas Television. Ekspress Grupp said the transaction was approved by the Competition Council and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The parties agreed not to disclose the purchase price or other commercial terms.

The Competition Council had ordered Ekspress Grupp, which operates the Delfi news portal in Lithuania, to sell lrytas.lt by January 7, 2026, after ruling that the group had acquired the outlet without regulatory approval.

“The prolonged process with the Competition Council did not allow us to fully unlock the potential of lrytas.lt within the group,” Ekspress Grupp Chairwoman Mari-Liis Ruutsalu said in a statement. “This transaction allows us to meet regulatory requirements while ensuring that Lrytas continues to be developed by a new owner.”

According to the statement, lrytas.lt will continue operating as a news portal, and employment-related matters will be handled by Admisa once the deal is completed.

Skaisgirys said he is optimistic about the outlet’s future.

“We believe in the opportunity to leverage the natural synergy between Lietuvos Rytas Television and the lrytas.lt portal and achieve a breakthrough in development,” he said.

Ekspress Grupp said the sale will result in a one-time net loss of about 2.3 million euros. Lrytas currently accounts for about 5% of the group’s revenue and roughly 2% of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

Since February, Ekspress Grupp has repeatedly asked the Competition Council to extend the deadline for selling the portal. The most recent extension, granted on December 5, prolonged the deadline by one month.

Another requirement imposed by the council – to restore the previous situation by selling lrytas.lt back to its former owner, Lietuvos rytas – was temporarily suspended in March by the Regional Administrative Court. The suspension remains in effect pending a final ruling on whether the Competition Council was justified in blocking the transaction earlier this year.

On February 7, the Competition Council ordered Ekspress Grupp to sell one of its two Lithuanian news portals within six months, concluding that delfi.lt and lrytas.lt were close competitors and market leaders by several audience metrics, with a combined market share exceeding 40%.

The council had already ruled in December 2023 that Ekspress Grupp must end the violation within two months or restore the previous situation, imposing a 140,000-euro fine. Ekspress Grupp appealed the decision and sought to suspend its enforcement, but Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court rejected that request in February last year.

Ekspress Grupp acquired Lrytas from Lietuvos rytas in December 2022. In February 2024, the Competition Council postponed the deadline for the group to submit formal notification of the deal, which was ultimately accepted in May.