Grupo Moneta

The history of Grupo Moneta goes back to Raúl Juan Pedro Moneta, father of the current group’s shareholders. He started to work in the media industry in the late 1990s. At that time, he was President and owned 33% of the stock of Grupo Citicorp Equity Investments (CEI). Through that business trust (which included Telefónica Internacional [TISA], Liberty Media and American investment fund HMT&F), he came to control two open TV channels in Buenos Aires (Telefé and Canal 9), three radio stations (Continental, La Red and FM Hit), TV production company Torneos y Competencias, paid content TV company Cablevisión and 50% of telephone company Telefónica. At the turn of the millennium and under a new government, he lost his stock in CEI after being legally prosecuted for his actions through financial company Banco República.

In 2010 a partnership between Raúl Moneta and Matías Garfunkel (another businessman connected to banking institutions) marked the banker’s return to the radio industry. He purchased over 10 radio stations that the Corporación Iberoamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE) had sold to comply with the regulations set by the law on audiovisual communication services.

In 2013 the partnership between Moneta and Garfunkel came to an end, and half of the radio stations were kept by Garfunkel. In 2014 another businessman from the financial sector, Jorge Brito, purchased one of their FM radio stations. In 2018 the group sold FM Blue to Grupo América.

Currently, as a result of its founder’s serious health issues, Grupo Moneta has shrunk and lost relevance in the media market. Its share is limited to FM Metro 95.1 and a network of four sister radio stations, as well as magazines InfoCampo, Bacanal and El Federal.

In 2013 Raúl Moneta delegated the management of his companies to his children (Belisario, Faustino and Raúl Cruz).