Alma Media Corporation Stock Exchange Release August 26, 2010 at 14.00 (EEST)
THE JOINT VENTURE ARRANGEMENT RELATED TO ALMA MEDIA'S AND ARENA PARTNERS' COOPERATION CLOSED
Alma Media Corporation announced in March 2010 that it will start cooperation in the national classified advertising business with Arena Partners Oy, a business development company owned jointly by five newspaper publishers operating in Central Finland. Alma Media and Arena Partners have today closed the deals related to the cooperation, which has been accepted by the Finnish Competition Authority on July 14, 2010.
Arena Partners has bought a 35% share of Alma Mediapartners Oy, a new company operating in Alma Media's home sales, vehicle and consumer advertising marketplace businesses. Simultaneously, Alma Media has purchased a 35% share of Arena Interactive, a subsidiary of Arena Partners with a focus on mobile solutions development. The deals will be executed on September 1, 2010. They will have no effect on personnel employed by these companies.
The cooperation is an important part of the strategic development of Alma Media's Marketplaces business and the expansion of its business opportunities also in classified newspaper advertising. The joint venture will include Alma Media's Etuovi.com, Vuokraovi.com, Autotalli.com and Mikko.fi classified services. The 2009 total net sales of the services was EUR 16.9 million.
Arena Partners Oy is a development company for electronic business. Its shareholders are Keskisuomalainen Oyj, Ilkka-Yhtymä Oyj, Sanomalehti Karjalainen Oy, Keskipohjanmaan Kirjapaino Oy, Etelä-Savon Viestintä Oy and Arena Partners Oy. The regional newspapers published by the shareholders are Ilkka, Itä-Savo, Karjalainen, Keskipohjanmaa, Keskisuomalainen, Länsi-Savo, Pohjalainen ja Savon Sanomat.
Alma Media Corporation
Rauno Heinonen
Vice President, Corporate Communications and IR
For more information, please contact:
Kai Telanne, President and CEO, tel. +358 10 665 3500
Raimo Mäkilä, Senior Vice President, Marketplaces, tel. +358 10 665 5802
Distribution: NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, principal media
Alma Media in brief
Alma Media is a dynamic media company whose best-known products are the Aamulehti, Iltalehti, Kauppalehti and Etuovi.com. Alma Media employs nearly 3,000 professionals. The company's net sales in 2009 totalled MEUR 307.8 with an operating margin of 13.5 per cent. Alma Media's share (ALN1V) is listed in the NASDAX OMX Helsinki Exchange. Read more at www.almamedia.fi (http://www.almamedia.fi/).
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