Investor Relations
Corporate Governance
Metro International S.A. is a Luxembourg limited-liability company
Latest News
METRO INTERNATIONAL AND SANOMA SIGN SALE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR METRO FINLAND
11 August 2006
Metro International S.A. ("Metro International"), the international newspaper group, and Sanoma Corporation ("Sanoma"), Finland's leading publishing group which is part of the SanomaWSOY Group, today announce that they have entered into a sale and purchase agreement whereby Metro International's Finnish operation ("Metro Finland") will be sold to Sanoma. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to complete by 1st September, 2006 and is not subject to regulatory approval.
Metro Finland publishes the free daily newspaper Metro in Finland, distributed in 18 towns around Southern Finland. The majority of the newspaper's readers are in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Metro Finland has 39 employees and its net sales amounted to € 5.76 million in 2005.
Sanoma will continue to publish Metro in Finland, alongside its own free daily newspaper Uutislehti 100, under a franchise agreement with Metro International. The newspaper will also remain included in Metro International's Pan-European advertising packages.
Mikael Pentikäinen, President of Sanoma commented: "Free sheets such as Metro and Sanoma's Uutislehti 100 are experiencing strong growth. They are excellently suited to young, affluent readers and to our media customers interested in this target group. Metro complements our existing products and its addition to the range will broaden our offering to advertisers. This deal strengthens Sanoma's position as a free sheet publisher in the Uusimaa region, which is our core area."
The transaction will be earnings enhancing for Metro International and will result in a one-off profit which will be included in Metro International's Q3 financial statements.
Pelle Törnberg, CEO of Metro International said: "Finland is one of Metro International's markets of lesser scale and a franchise agreement with Sanoma allows Metro International to maintain its existing global reach which is important to our international advertisers who are attracted to Metro International's unique pan-European distribution platform. The franchise agreement also enables Sanoma to develop the Finnish free daily newspaper market under the global Metro brand - to the benefit of both parties. In addition, the transaction allows Metro International to reallocate resources to other markets."
***
For further information, please visit www.metro.lu, or contact:
Pelle Törnberg
President & CEO
Tel: +44 20 7016 1300
Andrew Best
Corporate Communications
Tel: +44 20 7321 5022
Email: metro@sharedvalue.net
ABOUT METRO INTERNATIONAL
Metro is the largest and fastest growing international newspaper in the world. 69 Metro editions are published in 93 major cities in 21 countries in 19 languages across Europe, North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach - attracting a young, active, well-educated, metropolitan audience of over 18.5 million daily readers and more than 37 million weekly readers. Metro has an equal number of male and female readers and 70% are under the age of 45. Metro's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual rate of 44% since the launch of the first edition in 1995.
Metro International S.A. 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the Stockholmsbörsen 'O-List' under the symbols MTROA and MTROB.