Business News
Axel Springer announces planned public offer for leading French property classifieds portal operator Seloger.com SA
Friday 10. September 2010 - 12.4 percent stake in Seloger.com SA acquired from individual shareholders / Offer price of EUR 34.00 per share / Highly profitable market leader in France / Expansion of European footprint in online classifieds business
Axel Springer AG is making another step in implementing its strategy of digitization and internationalization by investing in a market leading, highly profitable online classifieds group in France. The company agreed to acquire a 12.4 percent stake in Seloger.com SA, a leading operator of property classifieds portals in France, from a group of shareholders including the founders Amal Amar and Denys Chalumeau at a price of EUR 34.00 per share in cash.
Axel Springer intends to launch a voluntary public offer for all remaining outstanding shares of Seloger.com SA at a price of EUR 34.00 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of approximately 13.3 percent on the closing price of the Seloger.com SA share of EUR 30.00 on September 9, 2010. The terms of the offer value the company at a total of EUR 566 million.
The public offer will be subject to merger control clearance. It will be filed with the French Securities Regulator (Autorité des marchés financiers) in due course. Seloger.com SA is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris (SLGC.PA, SLG FP).
Seloger.com SA: Highly profitable leader in the French online property classifieds market
Seloger.com SA is a leading operator of online portals dedicated to the posting of property advertisements in France. Founded in 1992, the company today successfully operates six property online portals including www.seloger.com and www.immostreet.com. It has a portfolio of 1.1 million online property advertisements, a reach of 3.1 million unique users and 14.1 million visits per month.
Seloger.com SA has an extensive network among property agents, who act as important intermediaries in the French property market. 80 percent of the property agents in the Paris metro region and 55 percent of the property agents in the other French regions use Seloger.com SA to promote their sales and rental offers. By the end of June 2010, Seloger.com SA had increased the number of property agent customers by 7 percent compared to the previous year. The company has a strong and well-known brand and a reputation for innovation. Seloger.com SA is headquartered in Paris.
EBITDA margin of 52 percent in the first half of 2010
Seloger.com SAs excellent market position is backed by a strong financial performance. In 2009, the company generated revenues of EUR 73 million and an EBITDA of 37.3 million. With an EBITDA margin of 51.1 percent, the company has been highly profitable. In the first half of 2010, Seloger.com SA recorded an acceleration of activity in almost all lines of business. The company increased its consolidated sales by 11.2 percent to EUR 39.4 million (previous year: EUR 35.5 million). The EBITDA rose by 12.9 percent to EUR 20.5 million (previous year: EUR 18.2 million) and the EBITDA margin increased to 52 percent.
and has excellent growth perspectives.”Dr. Mathias Döpfner, Chief Executive Officer of Axel Springer AG, said: “Classified advertisements have been a core business of Axel Springer since the inception of the Group. We are seeing a rapid migration of classified advertising from the print to the online world, and Axel Springer has already established itself as a major online player in several European markets. The investment in Seloger.com SA therefore fits well into our strategy and will be a significant expansion of our European footprint in the online classifieds business. Seloger.com SA has clearly established itself as a leader in online property classifieds in France
Döpfner added: “We are delighted that a group of shareholders, including the founders of Seloger.com SA, have decided to sell their shares to Axel Springer. This demonstrates that we are making an attractive offer to the shareholders of Seloger.com SA. We also believe that Axel Springer can be a valuable major shareholder for Seloger.com SA, and we would look forward to working with the current management on further growing the business. Axel Springer is well-known for its approach to provide management teams with the entrepreneurial freedom they need to be successful in a dynamic marketplace.”
Further information about Seloger.com SA is available at www.groupe-seloger.com .
Disclaimer:
This communication is for informational purposes only. It is not the extension of a tender offer for any securities nor an offer to purchase, sell or exchange (or the solicitation of an offer to sell, purchase or exchange) any securities in any jurisdiction, including the United States. There may be no such offer (or solicitation), purchase, sale or exchange of any securities, and the tender offer referred to herein may not be extended, in any jurisdiction outside the French Republic, where it would be unlawful absent prior registration, filing or qualification under applicable laws, including the United States, Canada, Italy and Japan. The distribution of this communication may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Accordingly, persons in whose possession it comes are required to inform themselves of and observe any such restrictions.