MicroAge Inc’s Hungarian distribution network, Duna Elektronika, has taken an unspecified stake in Budapest Week, the country’s widest circulation English language newspaper. Terms were not disclosed, although the tabloid did say that it has received a capital injection from Duna, which will be used for investment purposes. Budapest Week will move over the river to the red-light district in Budapest, where Duna’s headquarters are situated. Duna is Hungary’s largest computer distributor, with independent dealers in every major town. It also owns 22 showrooms. However, no decision has yet been taken on how the company will exploit its investment. According to president and chief executive Peter Freed, things are still at the ideas stage. On the one hand, Duna is said to be thinking about buying the rights to a publish a Hungarian or European version of an unnamed US Unix programmers title, with current circulation of 7,000. On the other hand, rumours are that it may launch a computing supplement under the Budapest Week name. Duna’s ultimate aim is to support its distribution activities by advertising in its own local computer publications, while also hoping to attract advertising from its competitors. Until last month, Budapest Week and the Daily News, a former communist publication published by the Hungarian news agency, MTI, were the only English-language publications in the country. Budapest Week is now locked in a circulation battle with the new weekly broadsheet, the Budapest Post.
