TALENTUM OYJ RELEASE NOVEMBER 13, 2007 AT 2.30 PM
TALENTUM'S PURCHASE OF THOMSON FAKTA REGULATORY IN SWEDEN CONCLUDED
Talentum's purchase of the Fakta Regulatory business of Thomson Förlag AB, based
in Sweden, by Talentum's Swedish subsidiary, Talentum Sweden AB was concluded on
November 13, 2007.
On conclusion of the transaction, Talentum became the owner of a newly formed
company named Fakta Regulatory AB, which previously took over the Fakta
Regulatory business. The business principally involves the processing of
information on employment legislation, personnel development and taxation for
professional use online, in printed form, and through training events. The
products are fee- and subscription-based, and largely online. The Fakta
Regulatory business has about 60 employees, and its net sales in 2006 were about
SEK 74 million (about EUR 8 million). The business is profitable.
Christer Björkin, CEO of Talentum Sweden:
”Fakta Regulatory fits well into Talentum Sweden's target to increase revenue
from digital services and content. The products and services will be a great
asset in our product portfolio. We plan to run the business in its current form,
but over time we believe that there will be considerable synergies that will
benefit existing customers. We also believe the cooperation between Talentum
Sweden and Fakta Regulatory will benefit all of Talentum, even at the Nordic
level. Approximately half of Fakta Regulatory's business is online-based. We
will increase this business in line with the clients' needs.”
”Talentum Sweden´s business has up to now mainly consisted of magazine
publishing. During the last years we have focused on increasing the income from
services other than advertising revenue to make our business less sensitive to
economic cycles. This purchase is a significant step in that direction,” says
Christer Björkin, CEO of Talentum Sweden.
Juha Blomster, CEO of Talentum:
”The justification for acquiring Fakta Regulatory is contained in Talentum's
strategy. Talentum focuses on producing information for professionals; we want
to become international and invest in growth.
Our aim is to increase the proportion of online business and content sales in
the net sales of Talentum Group.
Talentum Sweden's acquisition of Fakta Regulatory contributes to achieving all
those targets. We think that Fakta Regulatory products can be used in Finland as
well. Fakta Regulatory employees have accepted the change of the owner well. It
is a good foundation for Talentum to start developing the business further”,
says Juha Blomster, CEO of Talentum.
Thomas Hegelund, the CEO of Thomson Legal & Regulatory Scandinavia:
”Thomson entered its Swedish business, which consisted of production and
distribution of information relating to personnel administration, in 1993. The
business has been very successful and has nearly doubled in size. Fakta is today
by far the best known information brand among HR professionals in Sweden. Almost
half of Swedish HR professionals use Fakta products and services.
Thomson's International Legal & Regulatory group (TILR) concentrates its
international activities on legal content, software and solutions. Thomson's
Fakta Regulatory focuses on regulatory information, mainly for HR professionals,
and it offers limited opportunities for synergies with other Thomson business
units.
Thomson decided to divest its HR and Tax Regulatory information business in
Sweden, while retaining the legal information arm of the business, including
products like Karnov and PACTA. The new name of that business will be Thomson
Förlag AB.
”Thomson is the leading provider of legal online solutions in the Nordic region
and following this transaction we will focus our resources even more on
providing high quality information solutions to legal professionals across
Sweden,” says Thomas Hegelund, the CEO of Thomson Legal & Regulatory
Scandinavia.
TALENTUM OYJ
Juha Blomster
CEO
Distribution
OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki
Main media
Further information:
Talentum Sweden AB: Christer Björkin, CEO, (christer.bjorkin@talentum.se), tel.
tel. +46 70 95 97 561
Talentum Oyj: Juha Blomster, CEO, (juha.blomster@talentum.fi), tel. +358 40 342
4444
Thomson Legal & Regulatory Scandinavia: Thomas Hegelund, CEO,
(thomas.hegelund@thomson.com), tel. +45 20 14 47 70)
Thomson Förlag AB: Kajsa Hessel, Country Manager, (kajsa.hessel@thomson.com),
tel. +46 708 587 693)
Talentum is a media company focused on professionals. Talentum offers
professionals magazines, books, seminars and online solutions. Media content
production by Talentum is based on solid expertise and journalistic skill.
Talentum's magazines include Talouselämä, Arvopaperi, Fakta, Tekniikka & Talous,
Tietoviikko, MikroPC, Markkinointi & Mainonta, Metallitekniikka, Energia and
Mediuutiset in Finland, and in Sweden Affärsvärlden, Dagens Media, Ny Teknik,
Arbetarskydd, Lag & Avtal, Dagens Teknik and Miljörapporten. Talentum is also
the leading publisher of a variety of legal and business literature.
The Talentum Group's turnover was EUR 121 million in 2006 and the company
employs some 950 people. Talentum's shares are listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange
Helsinki (OMX: TTM1V)
Fakta Regulatory is one of Sweden´s leading providers of information about HR
administration and tax legislation. Fakta Regulatory offers a wide range of
web-based information services, newsletters, advisory services, workflow
solutions, tools, consultancy, seminars and books to business professionals.
Fakta Regulatory supports Swedish organisations in image-building efforts
through seminars and services like Lönevågen and HR Business Tool. Fakta
Regulatory also publishes the publication Företagarhandboken, in print as well
as online.
The seller, Thomson Förlag AB (formerly Thomson Fakta AB), is part of the
Thomson Corporation group of companies. The Thomson Corporation is a leading
global provider of integrated information-based solutions to business and
professional customers. Thomson has 32,000 employees and operates in 37
countries. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the New York and
Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).