REGULATED INFORMATION - Roularta acquires the JV interest from Bayard Presse

Roularta has obtained 100% ownership of Plus Magazine in the Netherlands, Plus, Frau im Leben and G-Geschichte in Germany and Telepro in Belgium, as well as acquiring 100% of gezondheidsnet.nl.
 
Roularta Media Group (RMG) has taken over the French media group Bayard Presse’s 50% share in:
 
- Senior Publications Nederland (SPN), the publisher of the monthly Plus Magazine in the Netherlands,
- Belgomedia, the publisher of Telepro in Belgium and Plus, Frau im Leben and G‑Geschichte in Germany, through German subsidiaries.
 
RMG had previously owned 50% of SPN and Belgomedia, as a co-founder or co-shareholder, for about the last 30 years. Thus this transaction turns RMG into the sole shareholder in these companies.
 
RMG has also acquired 100% of Bayard Presse’s shares in Press Partners, the publisher of the website gezondheidsnet.nl in the Netherlands.
 
Xavier Bouckaert, CEO Roularta Media Group, explains: “This transaction enables RMG to reinforce its international expansion and brand portfolio with strong multimedia brands that have a loyal, growing community of subscribers. The various brands have a total of 378,000 subscribers. B2C revenue accounts for 85 to 90% of the total revenue. Thus RMG’s business model is continuing its shift from B2B to B2C income.”

• Plus Magazine in the Netherlands is the monthly magazine aimed at a vast, growing audience: the over-50s. It is an inspiring magazine based on five important pillars: health, law and money, society, leisure and lifestyle. For more than 30 years, it has responded to all the questions facing people aged 50 and over and published many testimonials and solutions. Plus Magazine is the largest monthly magazine in the Netherlands and has a circulation of 217,123 copies sold, 89% of which are subscriptions. Its print and digital channels combined (including plusonline.nl) reach 1,304,000 readers (source: NOM). Plus Magazine has also developed several spin-offs in recent years: + Gezond, the largest healthmagazine in the Netherlands, Plus Puzzles, special editions, cruises and holidays, online lessons (Etadoro.nl), insurance, etc. SPN owns 100% of the advertising company Mediaplus and 50% of the company 50+ beurs, which organises the largest exhibition for the over-50s in November each year in Utrecht, attracting about 100,000 visitors annually, and the 'gezondheidsbeurs' exhibition that welcomes 45,000 visitors per year. These media brands will be joining Landleven, the magazine for lovers of the countryside in the Netherlands, which has been 100% owned by RMG since 2017. Gezondheisnet.nl is the largest health website in the Netherlands, which reaches 2.5 million unique visitors per month and has 190,000 newsletter subscribers.
• Plus Magazine in Germany is the monthly magazine targeting an audience of over-50s, whereas the monthly Frau Im Leben is aimed at women over 40. Plus Magazine and Frau Im Leben have a circulation of 49,599 and 62,700 copies sold respectively, of which 79% are subscriptions. They reach 1.5 million readers with their print versions and digital channels. G-Geschichte in Germany is the monthly magazine for history enthusiasts with a circulation of 25,000 copies sold, 78% of which are subscriptions. G-Geschichte also exists in Dutch (G-Geschiedenis) and is sold in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Telepro in Belgium is the second best-selling weekly in French-speaking Belgium. Telepro is also the clearest TV magazine. It offers readers a smart guide to more than 80 television channels and streaming platforms. Telepro has a circulation of 100,286 copies sold, 75% of which are subscriptions, and reaches 445,750 readers with its print version and digital channels including télépro.be (source: CIM).

A positive impact on Roularta Media Group’s results is expected in 2021, as the anticipated turnover and EBITDA of Senior Publications Nederland (SPN), Belgomedia and Press Partners are included in the consolidated figures for 2021, starting in April. In 2020, only 50% of SPN and Belgomedia’s net income was included in the EBITDA. The revenue from the companies thus acquired at 100% comes to more than 30 million euros. The companies involved employ 160 people.
 
RMG is a Belgian media group listed on the stock exchange, a market leader in magazine brands (general news, business and sports news, women’s brands, lifestyle and professional interest, in Dutch and French), local media in Flanders (free newspapers, Sunday newspapers, lifestyle magazines, online advertising sites, geo-located advertisements and networking events), provincial newspapers (Krant van West-Vlaanderen) and financial and economic newspapers (De Tijd, L’Echo). In the Netherlands and Germany, moreover, RMG is now the market leader in the media market for the over-50s readership group. What is more, along with Roularta Printing Services, RMG also owns the largest offset printing company in Belgium. This is where the quality newspapers, magazines and catalogues for the Belgian and foreign markets are printed.