17.12.2012 / 07:04
PRESS RELEASE
Strer AG moves into online business
- Supervisory Board backs acquisition of independent online marketers
Cologne, 17.12.2012 -In an ad-hoc announcement published yesterday,
Strer Out-of-Home Media AG announced that its Supervisory Board had
approved the conclusion of a purchase agreement and a preliminary agreement
concerning the acquisition of four online advertising marketers in total.
The agreements relate to adscale GmbH (91 percent) and to the shares held
by Media Ventures GmbH in Strer Interactive GmbH (100 percent), freeXmedia
GmbH (100 percent) and Business Advertising GmbH (50.4 percent). All of the
transactions are still subject to various conditions, including approval by
the Federal Cartel Office and a further signed purchase agreement by the
end of this year. Final closing of the contracts is expected by the end of
April 2013.
Both parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality about the cash
purchase price for the shares acquired in adscale GmbH. Once the respective
conditions have been met, the shares in the other companies will be
contributed by Media Ventures GmbH as a contribution in kind in return for
an expected total of max. 6.8m new shares from authorised capital at Strer
AG.
Alongside its core business field of out-of-home advertising, the planned
transactions will in just one move put Strer AG in a very good position in
the German online advertising market. This way, Strer is positioning
itself as a strong publisher-independent provider, one simultaneously
capable of covering the entire online advertising marketing value chain
from a single source. The marketing services in Strers new online
business will then include both traditional exclusive marketing and
premium-like vertical specialist marketing, as well as an automated
real-time trading platform for online advertising inventory.
For Strer, the market leader and pioneer in out-of-home advertising, this
step towards independently marketing online display, video and mobile
inventory represents a compelling strategic move, commented Christian
Schmalzl, Chief Operating Officer of Strer AG. We are supplementing our
out-of-home advertising, which is highly brand-focused, with more
transaction-based audience and reach marketing on the internet. With the
four providers combined, the newly established online business will achieve
greater reach enabling it to position itself more strongly compared with
large publisher-bound marketers and TV offerings. According to ComScore,
Adscale alone already provides for coverage of more than 44 million unique
visitors. That corresponds to more than 75% of internet users in Germany.
Transferring the strong sales capabilities available at Strer AG to the
new online platforms will create an attractive offering for advertisers,
both for customers advertising nationwide and for those with a regional
focus. Here, Strers proven marketing system in the field of digital
out-of-home advertising is comparable with the online business.
Becoming part of the Strer Group, and above all the chance to dovetail
our business with high-quality online marketers, will give adscale access
to growth opportunities we would otherwise not have been able to exploit,
comments Matthias Pantke, managing director and company spokesman.
Together, we can build up a far-reaching offering in terms of reach,
targeting and booking efficiency for marketing digital content online and
while in transit
All of the companies are planned to be pooled and managed in a separate
unit as Strer online. Overall operating responsibility for the business
performance of the new segment will be in the hands of Christian Schmalzl,
the Groups new Chief Operating Officer. He has the experience and
competence necessary to exploit the growth potential in this segment and
firmly anchor it within the Strer Group.
By entering the online business, Strer AG is driving the process of
consolidation now emerging in the online market. Like in the out-of-home
advertising market, Strer will play a key role in shaping this development
and aims to further significantly expand its position in the online segment
in the medium term.
Based in Munich, adscale GmbH operates a transparent, high-range trading
platform for digital advertising surfaces. The company, with 80 individuals
in permenant employment, works together with leading marketers and media
agencies who use the platform to centrally book campaigns and
simultaneously optimise their audience targeting. To this end, adscale
offers an exhaustive range of websites, advertising formats and targeting
methods, including real-time bidding. adscales managing directors,
Matthias Pantke and Stephan Kern, will remain shareholders in the company
and will also continue to be responsible for managing the company in
future.
The seller of the other three online advertising marketers is Media
Ventures GmbH, which is owned by Dirk Strer (51%) and Udo Mller (49%).
Dirk Strer is a member of the Supervisory Board at Strer AG, while Udo
Mller is Chairman of the companys Management Board. Based in Hamburg,
Strer Interactive GmbH reaches around 22 million unique users with its
portfolio of premium and special interest sites, service and community
portals (according to AGOF internet facts 2012-09) and is thus Germanys
largest independent online marketer.
Context-related marketing also includes the specialist portals focusing on
SME players, business and finance pooled at the shareholding Business
Advertising GmbH (share held by Media Ventures: 50.4%).
FreeXMedia GmbH is synonymous with high-quality contexts in various topical
areas, such as sport and entertainment. Here, the company can also draw on
moving image and mobile formats to offer target group-specific, contact
class-optimised campaign management.
About Strer
Strer Out-of-Home Media AG, Cologne, together with its subsidiaries,
specializes in all forms of out-of-home advertising media, from traditional
posters and advertising at bus and tram stop shelters and on vehicles,
through to sophisticated digital out-of-home advertising media. The Group
commercializes more than 280,000 advertising faces and, with consolidated
revenue of EUR 577.1m for fiscal year 2011, is one of the leading
out-of-home advertising companies in Germany, Turkey and Poland. In terms
of revenue, Strer is one of Europes largest providers of out-of-home
advertising.
The advertising media portfolio of the Cologne-based SDAX-listed company
comprises digital moving-picture networks in Germanys largest train
stations, in underground and suburban railway stations and in the countrys
largest shopping malls.
In addition, Strer boasts a broad offering of out-of-home advertising
products that set new standards in terms of the quality, innovation and
design of advertising media and street furniture. Strers street furniture
has won 27 international awards. The Strer Group has approximately 1,700
employees at over 70 locations.
Further information:
About adscale
www.adscale.de
About Business Advertising GmbH
www.businessad.de
About freeXmedia GmbH
www.freexmedia.de
About Strer Interactive GmbH
www.stroeer-interactive.de
About Media Ventures GmbH
www.mediaventures.de
Press contact:
Claudia Fasse
Strer Out-of-Home Media AG
Strer Allee 1D-50999 Cologne
Telephone: 02236 / 96 45-246
Fax: 02236 / 96 45-6246
Email: [emailprotected]
IR Contact:
Stefan Htwohl
Strer Out-of-Home Media AG
Director Group Finance and Investor Relations
Strer Allee 1 D-50999 Cologne, Germany
Phone: +49 (0)2236 / 96 45-338
Fax: +49 (0)2236 / 96 45-6338
E-Mail: [emailprotected]
End of Corporate News
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