Alma Media to sell its newspaper and distribution business in Lapland to Kaleva

Alma Media Corporation         Press Release 19 March 2018 at 10:00 a.m (EET).

ALMA MEDIA TO SELL ITS NEWSPAPER AND DISTRIBUTION BUSINESS IN LAPLAND TO KALEVA

Alma Media will sell its newspaper and distribution business in Lapland to Kaleva from the beginning of April 2018. The transaction will see a change of owners of the regional newspaper Lapin Kansa, the town papers Uusi Rovaniemi and Lounais-Lappi as well as Alma Manu Oy’s distribution business in Lapland. The parties have agreed not to disclose the price of the transaction. As a result of the transaction, Alma Media will record a non-recurring sales gain of approximately EUR 4.0 million in the second quarter.

Lapin Kansa is a six-day newspaper published in the Lapland region. Uusi Rovaniemi, published in Rovaniemi, and Lounais-Lappi, published in Sea Lapland, are both two-day town papers. Alma Manu Oy has an early morning delivery network in Lapland’s largest regional centres. In addition to newspapers, town papers, advertising supplements, letters and periodicals are also delivered.

The revenue of the sold business in 2017 was EUR 18.7 million. The employees will be transferred to the new owner as continuing employees. The number of employees in the newspaper business is 68 and in the distribution business the number is 88.

“Divesting the Alma Lappi business supports our strategy of limiting our focus on regional and local media in our core geographic area of Pirkanmaa and Satakunta. In our own natural region, we have two seven-day regional media, a comprehensive local newspaper network, our own printing press and early morning delivery,” says Kari Juutilainen, Managing Director of Alma Media Kustannus Oy.

According to Juutilainen, Kaleva is already a strong media player in Northern Finland and, as such, the most obvious new publisher for the newspapers in Lapland.

“The transaction is a natural continuation of the implementation of Kaleva Group’s strategy, which aims for growth by increasing the number of local publications, for example,” adds Juha Laakkonen, Managing Director of Kaleva Group.

Alma Media Kustannus Oy publishes Alma Media Group’s regional, local and town papers. In addition to Lapin Kansa, its best-known brands are Aamulehti and Satakunnan Kansa.

Further information:
Kari Juutilainen, Managing Director, Alma Media Kustannus Oy, tel. +358 50 435 4159
Juha Laakkonen, Managing Director, Kaleva Oy, tel. +358 40 762 5480

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a media company focusing on the service business and journalistic content. The company’s best-known brands are Kauppalehti, Talouselämä, Affärsvärlden, Iltalehti, Aamulehti, Etuovi.com and Monster. Alma Media builds sustainable growth for its customers by utilising the opportunities of digitalisation, including information services, system and expert services and advertising solutions. Alma Media’s operations have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltics and Central Europe. Alma Media employs approximately 2,250 professionals (excluding delivery employees), of which approximately 30% work outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2017 was EUR 367.3 million. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.

Kaleva in brief

Kaleva is a modern multimedia company that focuses on two business areas: the media business and the marketing services and platforms business. The media business invests in quality journalism, content products and advertising package solutions across a range of digital channels and printed media. The business includes the following publications: Kaleva, Kale!, Forum24, Raahen Seutu, Raahelainen and Pyhäjokiseutu as well as their comprehensive digital channels and services.

Marketing services and platforms are offered in the Group by Indieplace, a company specialised in influencer marketing and its planning, Offerilla, Finland’s largest marketplace for local special offers, Pro Ratas, an expert in digital marketing and media, and the printing press Erweko. Kaleva Group employs 525 media industry professionals. The company’s revenue in 2017 was EUR 54.7 million.

Share article