Ownership issue
A preliminary agreement on the purchase of Imedi Holding’s shares was signed in New York City on April 28, 2007, between Badri Patarkatsishvili and News Corporation, the details of which remained confidential. No equity is thought to have changed hands, although it has been reported that Badri Patarkatsishvili may have handed over some control of the station to News Corporation to defend it against politically motivated attacks from Mikheil Saakashvili.[19] Patarkatsishvili was at the time running in opposition against Saakashvili in the Georgian presidential election, 2008.
After Patarkatsishvili's death in February 2008, the issue of ownership of Imedi again came to public attention. Joseph Kay, the stepson of Patarkatsishvili's aunt, along with the American lawyer, Emmanuel Zeltser, attempted to take control of Imedi, as well as other assets belonging to the Patarkatsishvili family, by claiming to be in possession of Patarkatsishvili's last will and testament that appointed Kay as executor of the estate.[20] These documents were later declared to be forgeries in the UK High Court.
Kay obtained judgement in Tbilisi Court that prevented Patarkatsishvili's family from taking control of his assets in Georgia, including the Imedi stations. Kay claimed that Patarkatsishvili had asked him shortly before his death "to take care of Imedi" and pledged to "restore the face it [Imedi] had before Badri Patarkatsishvili went into politics." He rejected the allegations voiced by some Georgian opposition politicians that the authorities were, in fact, behind the deal.[21] Giorgi Jaoshvili, a Georgian businessman and former executor of Patarkatsishvili's estate, accused the authorities of using "psychological pressure" in order to "force" him to give up his shares in Imedi to Joseph Kay.[11]
In December 2008, Patarkatsishvili's widow, Inna Gudavadze, launched an international arbitration claim against the Georgian Government, seeking the return of Imedi and other assets that had been seized by Mikheil Saakashvili's government.[22][23]
In July 2011, the Patarkatsishvili family reached a settlement with the government that saw the return of Imedi to government nominees. The arbitration proceeding had been putting a substantial financial burden on the Georgian taxpayers and so the Patarkatsishvili family decided to reach what at the time was called a "reciprocal compromise" that saw the family renounce all claims to the ownership of Imedi TV and Mtatsminda Park.[24] The details of the settlement were not released at the time; however, they were eventually published in January 2014.[25]
Until October 2012, the station was effectively under government control and received criticism for being partisan. Elsa Vidal, from the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders, described the transfer of ownership as "a huge setback for freedom of expression".[11] The station manager Giorgi Arveladze was the country's former economics minister and a longtime friend of President Mikhail Saakashvili.[26] Georgia Media Production Group, which owns Imedi was at the time 45 owned by Giorgi Arveladze. Giorgi Korakhashvili and Giorgi Mikeladze held 30 and 15 percent of shares respectively, and the remaining 10% was held by Joseph Kay.[27]
Following parliamentary elections in 2012, on 16 October, the new government began the process of returning Georgia Media Production Group, and Imedi to the Patarkatsishvili family.[27] Giorgi Targamadze, a politician and former Imedi journalist, explained that this was a "logical" and "appropriate" end to the story. "Badri Patarkatsishvili founded Imedi TV, and it was thanks to him that the company functioned for several years. And I don't think anyone ever doubted that this television company belonged to Patarkatsishvili's family. In other words, justice has been restored," Targamadze told reporters.[28] Following a court order in November 2012, Joseph Kay returned the final 10% of Georgia Media Production Group to the Patarkatsishvili family, making Inna Gudavadze the 100% owner of Imedi.[19] On the 5 November 2012, Liana Zhmotova, Inna Gudavadze and Badri Patarkatsishvili's daughter became director general of Georgia Media Production Group.[29]
Natela Patarkatsishvili, Badri Patarkatsishvili's mother, has since asked for those responsible for the "criminal expropriation" of Badri's assets, including Mikheil Saakashvili and Giorgi Arveladze, to be brought to justice.[19] On the 23 February 2013, Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava was charged with the misappropriation of Imedi. An investigation found that the mayor's office had put pressure on Joseph Kay to hand over his shares in the company to the government.[30] Following this, it was suggested by Georgian Chief Prosecutor Archil Kbilashvili that Mikheil Saakashvili should be summoned as a witness in the case. "Reasoning from Joseph Kay's testimony, he confirms that all actions, taken by the former government officials for misappropriation of the TV company, had been coordinated with the Georgian President. In order to clarify the matter, the President may be summoned for interrogation as a witness", local media quoted Kbilashvili as saying.
Imedi is currently part owned by Prime Media Global and part owned by the Imedi management team, after they acquired the station from Hunnewell Partners in February 2026.[31]
