"Investment necessary for rapid company development will be attracted due to the invitation of a new shareholder - Oleg Deripaska - into the project," the joint press release said.
A source close to the Russian weekly business publication said Wednesday that Deripaska, Russia's sixth-richest man according to Forbes Russia, is planning to buy a large stake in Expert magazine, a popular business and analytical publication with a circulation of about 85,000.
"It will not be a controlling stake, but close to a blocking stake," the source said, adding that the deal is still being negotiated.
The volume of investment will be some 1.4 billion rubles ($52 million) over the next five years. The new media holding's annual profit in five years has been assessed at a minimum of 600 million rubles ($22.3 million).
Valery Fadeyev, Expert's chief editor, was appointed the new holding's general director, and his first deputy, Tatyana Gurova, its editorial director.
"As society is developing, the demand for powerful institutions of communication between social groups is growing," Deripaska said. "Independent private media companies are the key channels for this communication."
Deripaska was the world's 62nd wealthiest man in 2006. He also owns Russian Aluminum, a leading aluminum company. He is a vice president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and a member of the Government Council on Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship.
The holding also intends to start publishing a new weekly with the working title of Russian Reporter. It will become the Russian analogue of the European Le Figaro and Stern, and will target Russia's middle class.
The source said Wednesday that the holding will also launch a television channel broadcasting news, analytical programs, documentaries and feature films.
"This project is the least developed," he said. "It will be launched next year."
