Mecom Group

Mecom Group plc is a newspaper publishing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

Mecom Group plc
Public (LSE: MEC)
IndustryPublishing
Founded2005
Defunct2014 
HeadquartersLondon, 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)
Websitewww.mecom.com

It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until 22 December 2008, when it became one of three media companies to fall out of the index.[1]

History

The company was founded in 2005 by David Montgomery, a former CEO of the Mirror Group and former editor of The Sun, Daily Mirror, News of the World and Today.[2]

Mecom was first listed on the Alternative Investment Market in 2005.[3] In 2008, Mecom was admitted to the main list of the London Stock Exchange.[4]

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 include, but are not limited to, the disposal of some or all of the Group’s businesses.[5]

In 2014 Belgian company De Persgroep acquired Mecom.[6]

Growth through acquisition

Operations

In 2010, half the revenue and three-quarters of the profit comes from the Dutch Wegener group. Mecom is considered no more than a holding company.[12]

The Company owned around 300 titles and has had substantial operations in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Poland.[13] However, in 2009, Mecom sold all their newspapers in Germany to M. DuMont Schauberg and large parts of their newspapers in Norway.

Divisions

Netherlands

Mecom Group’s Dutch division comprises the Wegener and LMG. Wegener is the biggest publisher of local daily newspapers and free door-to-door newspapers in the Netherlands. LMG is the leading regional newspaper company in the Dutch region of Limburg.[14] 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.[15]

Denmark

Mecom’s Danish operation is Berlingske Media,[16] which provides newspaper publishing and printing.[17] Berlingske is 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.[18]

Poland

Having disposed of its 51 per cent interest in Presspublica in October 2011, the Group's activities in Poland now consists of Media Regionalne. Located in Warsaw, Media Regionalne holds several newspapers, freesheets, websites and printing factories across Poland.[19] Previously known as Orkla Press Polska, the company owns 10 local newspapers with over 300,000 copies sold.[20]

Norway

Mecom owned Norwegian newspapers Romsdals Budstikke and Sunnmorsposten until February 2009 when it was sold to the Polaris Media.[21] In late 2011, Mecom were in talks with Norwegian media group A-pressen to sell Edda Media,[22] and in June 2012 the sale was finalized with effective proceeds of NOK1,500 million resulting in a net debt reduction of approximately €195million.[23]

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References
  1. Chris Tryhorn. "Trinity Mirror, Johnston Press and Mecom crash out of FTSE 250". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  2. "Mecom Group PLC, MEC:LSE summary". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  3. Chris Tryhorn. "Brokers cut Mecom's pre-tax profit forecast". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  4. "UK's Mecom expects to list on main market mid-April". Reuters. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  5. "MECOM GROUP PLC - INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 30th JUNE 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  6. Andy Sharman; Robert Cookson (30 June 2014). "Belgian publisher De Persgroep buys Mecom for £200m". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  7. Brook, Stephen (25 October 2005). "Montgomery concludes German publisher deal". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
  8. Jason Deans. "Hamburger Morgenpost deal confirmed". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  9. Dan Milmo. "Montgomery buys Dutch double". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  10. Chris Tryhorn. "Montgomery buys into Norwegian media company". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  11. "Login". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  12. "Cookies op gelderlander.nl - gelderlander.nl". www.gelderlander.nl.
  13. "Mecom - Home". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  14. "Mecom - The Netherlands". mecom.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  15. "MECOM share price ( MEC,MEC.L,LSE:MEC,LON:MEC) - trade for £10: News | Interactive Investor". iii.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  16. "Berlingske Media - Company Profile and Analysis". G2Mi. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  17. "Berlingske Tidende A/s: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Businessweek. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  18. "Berlingske Media". Insideview. Archived from the original on 31 July 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  19. "Mecom - Business Overview". mecom.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  20. "Media Regionalne (Mecom Group) - Clients - BCC - SAP implementations, SAP outsourcing in Poland and other countries". bcc.com.pl. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  21. Amanda Andrews (18 February 2009). "Mecom sells Norwegian newspaper assets". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  22. "Mecom in talks to sell Edda Media to Norway's A-pressen". Reuters. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  23. "Mecom Group PLC: Completion of sale of Edda Media AS". Investegate. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
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