REGULATED INFORMATION - Roularta acquires New Skool Media, becoming the second largest publisher of magazine brands in the Netherlands

Roularta Media Group (RMG) is acquiring 100% of New Skool Media BV (NSM), thus becoming the owner of 20 magazine brands in the Netherlands. Together with the other magazine brands of RMG in the Netherlands, including Plus Magazine and Landleven, and their numerous line extensions, RMG will become the second largest publisher of magazine brands in the Netherlands. This makes the Netherlands RMG’s second homeland.

The agreement regarding the transfer of the shares of NSM was signed on 21 December, subject to approval from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM), a favourable opinion from the Central Works Council, and agreement of the management with the Editorial Board of EW (previously Elsevier).

The best-known magazine brands from NSM’s portfolio are EW (previously Elsevier, founded in 1945), an opinion magazine for highly educated readers, entrepreneurs and decision-makers, and Beleggersbelangen, the mobile-first platform for active investors and as such a market leader.

In addition, NSM publishes an extensive range of special interest magazines, each with a strong multimedia reader community:

• Delicious is about cooking and eating (with line extensions such as a webshop, cookbooks, cooking academies,…);
•     Knipmode, a sewing magazine, with Knipkids (children’s fashion) and naaipatronen.nl (webshop for sewing patterns);
•     Fiets, Fietsactief and Procycling, magazine brands for sporty amateur cyclists, recreational cyclists and professional cycling fans respectively;
•     Moto 73, Motor NL and Promotor (50% NSM)), for motorcycle enthusiasts;
•     Formule 1, the magazine brand for Formula 1 fans;
•     Truckstar, the unique magazine brand for truckers;
•     Seasons, for the readers who live an authentic rural life;
•     Roots, the magazine brand for nature lovers;
•     Vorsten, for royalty fans;
•     Kijk, for those interested in science and technology;
•     Columbus Travel, for the globetrotters;
•     Zin, a magazine brand for those over 50.

This transaction is expected to have a positive impact on the results of Roularta Media Group for 2022, since the expected revenue and EBITDA of NSM will be included in the consolidated figures for 2022 from the fulfilment of the aforementioned conditions precedent. The acquired company’s annual revenue amounts to approximately 45 million euros. It employs 170 FTEs.

Xavier Bouckaert, CEO Roularta Media Group: “With this transaction, RMG continues its international expansion and is growing its brand portfolio with strong multimedia brands and a loyal subscriber community. The various brands of New Skool Media have a total of 260,000 subscribers. B2C revenue represents 85 to 90% of total revenue. Thus RMG’s business model continues to shift from B2B to B2C.”

Erwin Van Luit, CEO New Skool Media:
“I am delighted that we have found in acquiring party Roularta an owner that, together with the management and employees of New Skool Media, aims to continue to build on the further development of our media brands. I am convinced that this collaboration, and certainly also Roularta’s experience as a major magazine publisher, will contribute greatly to both the quality and speed of this further development.”
 
Roularta Media Group is a Belgian listed multimedia group and market leader in magazine brands (general, business and sports news, women’s, lifestyle and professional brands) in Dutch and French, consisting of local media in Flanders (Sunday newspapers, lifestyle magazines, location-based advertising online and via TV screens in the shops, networking events, etc.), of provincial newspapers (Krant van West-Vlaanderen) and of financial and business newspapers (De Tijd, L’Echo). In Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, RMG is the market leader in media for those over 50. With Roularta Printing Services, RMG also has at its disposal the largest offset printer in Belgium. Quality newspapers, magazines and catalogues for the Belgian and foreign markets are printed here.