Empresa Folha da Manhã is a company owned by Grupo Folha that runs dailies Folha de S.Paulo and Agora São Paulo and classified sheet Alô Negócios, a paper that circulates in Paraná State, Brazil.
The company was founded in 1921 by a group of newsmen led by Olival Costa e Pedro Cunha, who launched the daily Folha da Noite, a predecessor of Folha de S.Paulo.
The company was formally registered one year later, according to Pedro Cunha, and besides the two main shareholders, it had three other partners: Antonio dos Santos Figueiredo, Mariano Costa e Ricardo de Figueiredo. In 1962, it was acquired by Octavio Frias de Oliveira and Carlos Caldeira.
Currently, the company is run by Luiz Frias, son to Octavio Frias de Oliveira and CEO of the group since 1992.
Folha da Manhã controls the following companies, either directly or partially, through joint-ventures with other companies:
UOL – The leading Internet portal in Brazil; Folha owns 74% of the company, with managerial control; 25% of shares belong to a group of shareholders led by entrepreneur João Alves de Queiroz Filho, principal at holding company Hypermarcas.
Valor Econômico – The leading Brazilian business daily, a 50/50 joint-venture with the Globo group. Shared management.
Plural - Plural, a joint-venture with US-based Quad/Graphics and managed by Grupo Folha, is the largest offset printing operation in South America.
SPDL – A 50/50 joint-venture with the Estado Group, the company delivers newspapers for both partners. Shared management.
Besides the Folha, Agora and Alô Negócios newspapers, Folha da Manhã has the following business units:
Magazine Division – responsible for guides and magazines that are distributed as free inserts within Folha.
Datafolha – one of the leading polling organizations in Brazil