Mecom Group
 | |
| Company type | Public(LSE:MEC) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Defunct | 2014 |
| Headquarters | London,United Kingdom |
Key people | Stephen Davidson (Executive chairman) |
| Revenue | €492 million (2012)(six months to June 2012) |
| €43.1 million (Loss) (2012) (six months to June 2012) | |
| Website | mecom |
Mecom Group plcwas anewspaperpublishing company headquartered inLondon,United Kingdom.
Initially, it was listed on theLondon Stock Exchangeand was a constituent of theFTSE 250 Indexuntil 22 December 2008, when it became one of three media companies to fall out of the index.[1]
History
[edit]The company was founded in 2005 byDavid Montgomery,a formerCEOof theMirror Groupand former editor ofThe Sun,Daily Mirror,News of the WorldandToday.[2]Mecom was first listed on theAlternative Investment Marketin 2005.[3] In 2008, Mecom was admitted to the main list of theLondon Stock Exchange.[4]
In conjunction with theAmericanmediaprivate equity firmVeronis Suhler Stevenson,the company acquired in 2005Berliner Verlag,publisher of theBerliner Zeitungand theBerliner Kurier.[5]In 2006, Mecom boughtGermany's oldest newspaper, theHamburger Morgenpost,[6]and theDutchMedia Groep Limburg.[7]The same year, Mecom acquiredOrkla Media,aNorwegianGroup which includesEdda Media,Berlingske OfficinandRzeczpospolita.[8]In 2007, the company bought a controlling stake in theDutchpublishing groupWegener.[9]
After the acquisitions, the Company owned around 300 titles and has had substantial operations in theNetherlands,Denmark,Norway,GermanyandPoland.[10]However, in 2009, Mecom sold all their newspapers in Germany toM. DuMont Schaubergand most of their newspapers in Norway. In 2010, half the revenue and three-quarters of the profit came from the DutchWegener group.[11]
In September 2012, following a period of poor trading conditions and continued challenging advertising markets, the group announced a strategic review to examine all options for maximising shareholder value. These options included the disposal of some or all of the Group's businesses.[12]In 2014 Belgian companyDe Persgroepacquired Mecom[13]and merged it into its own operations.
Divisions
[edit]Denmark
[edit]Mecom’s Danish operation wasBerlingske Media,[14]engaged in newspaper publishing and printing.[15]Berlingske was one of the largest publishers of nationwide and local daily newspapers and free door-to-door newspapers in Denmark, with a 54% share of the regional distribution market and 33% of the total Danish newspaper segment.[16]
Netherlands
[edit]Mecom Group’s Dutch division included the Wegener and LMG. Wegener was the biggest publisher of local dailynewspapersand free door-to-door newspapers in theNetherlands.LMG was the leading regional newspaper company in the Dutch region of Limburg.[17]In March 2012, Mecom reached an agreement to acquire 13.3% interest in Wegener resulting in Mecom holding 99.7% of the ordinary share capital of the company.[18]
Norway
[edit]Mecom owned Norwegian newspapersRomsdals BudstikkeandSunnmorsposten' until February 2009 when these were sold toPolaris Media.[19]In late 2011, Mecom held talks with Norwegian media groupA-pressento sell Edda Media,[20]and in June 2012 the sale was finalized with effective proceeds of NOK1,500 million resulting in a net debt reduction of approximately €195million.[21]
Poland
[edit]In October 2011 Mecom disposed of its 51 per cent interest in Presspublica. The Group's activities inPolandcontinued through Media Regionalne. Located inWarsaw,Media Regionalne held several newspapers, freesheets, websites and printing factories across Poland.[22]Previously known as Orkla Press Polska, the company owned 10 local newspapers with over 300,000 copies sold.[23]
References
[edit]- ^Chris Tryhorn."Trinity Mirror, Johnston Press and Mecom crash out of FTSE 250".the Guardian.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"Mecom Group PLC, MEC:LSE summary".Financial Times.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^Chris Tryhorn."Brokers cut Mecom's pre-tax profit forecast".the Guardian.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"UK's Mecom expects to list on main market mid-April".Reuters.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^Brook, Stephen (25 October 2005)."Montgomery concludes German publisher deal".The Guardian.Retrieved19 August2008.
- ^Jason Deans."Hamburger Morgenpost deal confirmed".the Guardian.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^Dan Milmo."Montgomery buys Dutch double".the Guardian.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^Chris Tryhorn."Montgomery buys into Norwegian media company".the Guardian.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"Login".Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"Mecom - Home".Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"Cookies op gelderlander.nl - gelderlander.nl".gelderlander.nl.
- ^"MECOM GROUP PLC - INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30th JUNE 2012"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 May 2013.Retrieved16 November2012.
- ^Andy Sharman; Robert Cookson (30 June 2014)."Belgian publisher De Persgroep buys Mecom for £200m".Financial Times.Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2022.Retrieved1 April2017.
- ^"Berlingske Media - Company Profile and Analysis".G2Mi.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Berlingske Tidende A/s: Private Company Information - Businessweek".Businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2013.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Berlingske Media".Insideview.Archived fromthe originalon 31 July 2013.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Mecom - The Netherlands".mecom.Archived fromthe originalon 19 December 2012.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"MECOM share price ( MEC,MEC.L,LSE:MEC,LON:MEC) - trade for £10: News | Interactive Investor".iii.co.uk.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^Amanda Andrews (18 February 2009)."Mecom sells Norwegian newspaper assets".The Telegraph.Retrieved13 January2015.
- ^"Mecom in talks to sell Edda Media to Norway's A-pressen".Reuters.Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2013.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Mecom Group PLC: Completion of sale of Edda Media AS".Investegate.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Mecom - Business Overview".mecom.Archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2012.Retrieved14 November2012.
- ^"Media Regionalne (Mecom Group) - Clients - BCC - SAP implementations, SAP outsourcing in Poland and other countries".bcc.pl.Retrieved14 November2012.
