Co-founder and family sell stake, quit Amarin media group

The co-founder of Amarin Group, her daughter and son-in-law have resigned from all positions in the group after they sold their shares to Siribhakditham Company Limited.

Amarin Group, which operates printing, online and TV media, reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on Wednesday that Amarin Group chairperson Metta Utakapan has resigned from the post and from the board of directors as well as director with signing authority.

The group also reported to the SET that Metta’s daughter, Rarin Utakapan Punjarungroj, has resigned from all the posts, including group CEO, board director, a director with signing authority, and secretary to the group.

In the same report, the SET was also informed that Rarin’s husband, Chokchai Punjarungroj, has resigned from the post of board director and a director with signing authority.

All the resignations took effect on Tuesday.

The SET was informed that the group’s board voted on Tuesday to elect Siri Boonpithakket as acting chairman and CEO until the board fills the vacant posts.

Observers believe Metta, her daughter and son-in-law resigned from the all the posts to pave the way for the Sirivadhanabhakdi clan to come in and manage it after the family’s Siribhakditham took a major stake in Amarin Group.

Siribhakditham is a holding company of TCG Group of beverage tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

On October 6, Amarin Group reported to the SET that Rarin had sold a big lot of 138,387,052 shares to Siribhakditham on October 5. The lot constituted 13.86% of Amarin Group’s 998,281,590 shares. It was reported that Rarin got 617.20 million baht from the sale.

Metta found Warasarn Baan Lae Suan Partnership with Chukiat Utakapan. The partnership published the first Baan Lae Suan magazine in September 1976.

The two later found Amarin Printing Partnership Ltd and listed it on the stock market as Amarin Printing and Publishing Plc in 1993.

Later, Amarin launched its own satellite TV channel called Amarin Active TV, and the company bid for a celestial digital TV channel on December 26, 2014, offering 3.32 billion baht for what became Amarin HD TV Channel 34.

The company suffered losses because of the high cost of the digital TV operations.

Then in 2016, Thapana and Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi bought 200 million shares of Amarin Group. The Sirivadhanabhakdis have delegated Siri, an executive of TCG, to run the Amarin Group.

Amarin Group currently operates six magazines, printing houses, digital media, Naiin Bookstore with 145 branches and run Amarin TV.