In an open letter issued on the 19 December, Agfa chief executive Jo Cornu criticised what it describes as one-sided, negative and inaccurate reporting in relation to the Belgian-based pre-media giant.
Cornu cited a number of examples, including an article published prior to Agfa's General Meeting of Shareholders in April, in which Broens claimed that a number of key shareholders would vote against certain agenda items.
Cornu said: "When we checked this with our shareholders, the information turned out to be completely false.
"Templeton, our main shareholder, even felt forced to issue a press release to deny the content of the articles. In this case it is clear that even the most elementary rules of objective journalism were not observed.
"Another example is a series of articles with completely false information about a possible operation involving Agfa Graphics. Insiders in the business know that this campaign was inspired by the management of Punch. I leave it to you to decide if this is ethically acceptable."
Cornu added that it was "beyond comprehension" why a newspaper purporting to represent entrepreneurs in Flanders would lead such a damaging campaign against "one of the very few Belgian companies with very important global market shares in almost all of its activities".
However, Cornu's demands for the publication of a text from his own hand in De Tijd as a right of reply were met with refusal from the paper's editor, prompting Agfa to release a further statement listing its grievances.
In it, the company said: "The editor's refusal to publish [Jo Cornu's] text is unacceptable to us. It is a proof of malice and a lack of courage to be critical for one's own way of reporting.
"Agfa-Gevaert was thus left no alternative to clarify the situation than by means of this press release. We will not hesitate to do this again in the future if De Tijd will continue its damage campaign."
Agfa slams newspaper over alleged 'damage campaign'
Agfa has hit back at what it describes as a "damage Agfa-Gevaert" campaign by Belgian daily newspaper De Tijd and one of its reporters, Bert Broens.
