Article: Thai entertainment tycoon backs down from newspaper takeover

RATTAPHOL ONSANIT
AP Worldstream
09-16-2005
Dateline: BANGKOK, Thailand
A business tycoon close to Thailand's prime minister on Friday abandoned an attempted takeover of a major Thai newspaper after critics protested that his acquisition threatened freedom of the press.

Paiboon Damrongchaitham, head of the Grammy entertainment conglomerate, had announced Tuesday that his group had acquired just over 32 percent of the shares in Matichon, giving it the largest single stake.

The news raised widespread concern, especially among journalists, as rumors circulated that Paiboon was acting on behalf of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is hostile to press criticism. Paiboon and his company have ...

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