Business News
Axel Springer expands Russian activities
Tuesday 24. November 2009 - Acquisition of the G+J Russia portfolio
Axel Springer Russia has acquired 100 percent of the shares in G+J Russia. Under the terms of the transaction, the entire portfolio – including the titles GEO, GALA Biografia, GEO Traveller, and GEOLENOK together with the websites geo.ru , moi-roditeli.ru , and moizvezdi.ru – are being transferred to the Axel Springer subsidiary, which will operate these print and online brands under license.
Ralph Büchi, President of Axel Springer International
Ralph Büchi, President of Axel Springer International: “The print and online offerings of G+J Russia add outstanding, established media brands like GEO, GALA Biografia and the Russian website ‘Parents’ to the premium segment targeted by Axel Springer Russia. This expansion of the portfolio secures the lasting success of our Russian subsidiary moving forward and represents a further step in our strategy of internationalization and digitization.”
Dr. Torsten-Jörn Klein, who is on Gruner+Jahr’s Executive Board and heads G+J International: “We remain firmly committed to those international markets where we already enjoy an excellent position on the market or where we can achieve such a position. Gruner+Jahr would only have been able to reach this position in Russia by making an excessive number of additional purchases at high prices. With Axel Springer, though, we have found a partner who will continue to operate our brands successfully in Russia.”
Axel Springer already publishes the business magazine FORBES (www.forbesrussia.ru ), the news magazine NEWSWEEK (www.runewsweek.ru ), the Russian edition of COMPUTER BILD (www.computerbild.ru ), and the people magazine OK! (www.ok-magazine.ru ) in Russia. Adding the print and online offerings previously sustained by G+J Russia helps to build on this premium strategy.
The educational magazine GEO occupies second place in the segment for science and nature magazines in Russia, with a net paid circulation of 120,000 copies*.
The premium magazine GALA Biografia lies in third place in the people-magazines segment, with 235,000 copies* sold. GEO Traveller is a quarterly magazine in the travel segment that targets well-off readers with a large travel budget (circulation of approx. 30,000 copies*). The “edutainment” magazine GEOLENOK is intended for children and teenagers aged between six and 16. This title has a net paid circulation of 78,000 copies*.
The www.moi-roditeli.ru service and network portal is aimed at parents, delivering advice on all aspects of raising children and also offering numerous forums and social network functions. moizvezdi.ru is a stars and celebs website focusing on celebrities, fashion, lifestyle, horoscopes, recipes, news, and photo galleries. geo.ru is the online version of the Russian print magazine, dealing with topics like science, research and the environment.
The transaction is subject to approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities.