Ringier Acquires Axel Springer’s Eastern Europe Business

The Swiss company Ringier AG will take over the ownership share of Germany’s Axel Springer SE in Serbia, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia this year, whereas, in Slovakia, the German company will keep its minority share in the ownership of joint companies, Ringier confirmed for Tanjug yesterday.

Ringier’s press release explains that the reason is that the company is expanding its business activities in Eastern Europe, increasing the number of digital media and the market share.

– Axel Springer will continue to focus on its long-term growth strategy. The company is aiming to become a global leader in digital journalism and digital classifieds. In addition to substantial investments in growth fields, this will also require a clear focus on large and strategic core markets. In the News Media segment, central to this is the already highly digitized portfolio in Germany, the USA and Poland. As joint venture partners, Axel Springer and Ringier will focus their future efforts in Eastern Europe exclusively on the Polish market – the press release says.

It is added that, thanks to the acquisition of the ownership share in Serbia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Ringier is strengthening its current activities in Romania and Bulgaria.

– The acquisition of the Axel Springer shares in Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and the Baltic states is an important milestone in our business development. This transaction is an acknowledgement of our long-term commitment to being a modern media investor in Eastern Europe. The portfolio in these countries suits us ideally and will further strengthen the Ringer ecosystem. In addition, Serbia, Slovakia and Hungary serve as a good basis for expanding our digital sports media strategy – said Marc Walder, CEO of Ringier AG.

Both parties have agreed to keep the sale price and the valuation of the parts of the companies being acquired confidential, according to the press release.

In Serbia, Ringier and Axel Springer own the printed and digital editions of Blic, magazines NIN, Zena, Puls and other publications.

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