Népszabadság's front page on January 3, 2011, read: 'The freedom of the press in Hungary has come to an end' -- in protest of the new media law which came into force in the country on New Year's Day | EPA/Balazs Mohai Hungary’s biggest opposition newspaper shut down A statement, signed by the publisher, said the 60-year-old national daily’s business situation was not sustainable.

Mediaworks, the publisher of Hungary's biggest opposition newspaper, Népszabadság, said Saturday that it was temporarily suspending publication, in print and online.

Mediaworks is owned by a private equity firm Vienna Capital Partners and its CEO Balázs Rónai is also leaving, according to local media reports.

There has been speculation since the beginning of the year about the 60-year-old national daily and other Mediaworks publications getting a new owner, potentially linked to the governing Fidesz party of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his allies.

A statement, signed by the publisher, was posted on nol.hu, Népszabadság's website on Saturday, saying that the paper "has so far been unable to achieve economic success, and management’s priority must be to resolve this, finding the best future business model.”

The statement also said that its poor showing “is adversely affecting the performance of the whole [Mediaworks portfolio] and will continue to do so in the long-term, unless it is put on a completely new footing.”

The newspaper has lost 74 percent of its circulation revenue in the past 10 years, the statement said, adding that so far this year "this business segment has again generated a considerable net loss.”

The publisher will look for "the formulation and realization of a new concept."

Socialist opposition representatives said the closure was a "black day for the press" and urged protesters to gather outside the paper's offices.

Népszabadság has frequently been critical of Orbán's government, which European leaders have also chided for perceived attacks on free media and increasingly assertive anti-migrant policies. In the past few days, the paper had broken several stories on alleged corrupt practices involving senior officials from the government and the National Bank of Hungary.

A "senior Népszabadság editor" told the AFP news agency that journalists preparing stories for the October 10 edition were suddenly blocked from going to work and given letters of suspension Saturday.

An unsigned post on Népszabadság’s Facebook page said that the staff was informed of the newspaper's closure at the same time as the public.

"Our first thought is that this is a coup," the post said.

Mediaworks controls a large sector of the Hungarian print media market, including the Vilaggazdasag business daily and the Nezmeti Sport daily. Last year, it acquired 27.7 percent stake in Népszabadság, which has been owned by a foundation set up by the Socialist Party, the country's largest leftist opposition group, according to an AP report Saturday.

Last week the company announced the acquisition of regional newspapers in 12 counties, adding to its portfolio that include eight other regional dailies and a wide range of magazines.

Népszabadság was established in 1956 and was under the control of Hungary's ruling communist party until 1989 when the regime was toppeled. Its circulation at the time of shut down was around 40,000.

#Nepszabadsag's possibly last front page with two corruption stories on top HU govt officials. Consequence: paper is shut down #mediafreedom pic.twitter.com/fqEnvrEAPr — Eszter Zalan (@eszterz) October 8, 2016

This article has been updated with more details.

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