FRANKFURT, Sept 10 (Reuters) - German publisher Axel Springer has stepped up its push to capture adverts migrating to the Internet by unveiling plans to buy France's SeLoger.com SA for 566 million euros ($718.1 million).
Springer plans to offer 34 euros cash per share for the French company that specialises in property ads.
SeLoger shares were suspended early on Friday pending a company statement, while Springer shares eased 0.3 percent by 0740 GMT. Selonger closed on Thursday at 30 euros, off a high of 32.45 touched on May 13.
'(The) bid means seven times sales of SeLoger. That seems rather expensive for Springer, which is valued 1.1 times sales,' one trader in Frankfurt said.
Springer, publisher of Europe's best-selling tabloid Bild, said late on Thursday it had already agreed to buy around 12.4 percent of the shares in SeLoger.com for 34 euros per share cash, or around 70 million euros.
It said it intends to launch a public offer for the remaining nearly 14.6 million shares for 34 euros each.
The price represents a premium of around 13.3 percent for SeLoger's shares based on its Thursday closing price on the Paris stock exchange, it said.
SeLoger would be the German publisher's second major acquisition in the French Internet business.
Three years ago, it bought a majority stake in auFeminine.com, a website on female-related themes, for more than 280 million euros.
(Reporting by Alexander Hubner and Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Cowell) ($1=.7882 Euro) Keywords: AXELSPRINGER/SELOGER (michael.shields@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1266) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Springer plans to offer 34 euros cash per share for the French company that specialises in property ads.
SeLoger shares were suspended early on Friday pending a company statement, while Springer shares eased 0.3 percent by 0740 GMT. Selonger closed on Thursday at 30 euros, off a high of 32.45 touched on May 13.
'(The) bid means seven times sales of SeLoger. That seems rather expensive for Springer, which is valued 1.1 times sales,' one trader in Frankfurt said.
Springer, publisher of Europe's best-selling tabloid Bild, said late on Thursday it had already agreed to buy around 12.4 percent of the shares in SeLoger.com for 34 euros per share cash, or around 70 million euros.
It said it intends to launch a public offer for the remaining nearly 14.6 million shares for 34 euros each.
The price represents a premium of around 13.3 percent for SeLoger's shares based on its Thursday closing price on the Paris stock exchange, it said.
SeLoger would be the German publisher's second major acquisition in the French Internet business.
Three years ago, it bought a majority stake in auFeminine.com, a website on female-related themes, for more than 280 million euros.
(Reporting by Alexander Hubner and Christoph Steitz; Editing by David Cowell) ($1=.7882 Euro) Keywords: AXELSPRINGER/SELOGER (michael.shields@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1266) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.