Brief: Schibsted to spin off international online classifieds in IPO
18/09/2018 09:09
Sept 18 (Reuters) - Schibsted ASA SBSTA.OL :
* REG-SCHIBSTED ASA (SCHA/SCHB) - SCHIBSTED TO SPIN OFF AND
IPO
INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS
* RESOLVED TO INITIATE A PROCESS TO REORGANIZE COMPANY INTO
TWO
GROWTH-ORIENTED COMPANIES
* INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS OPERATIONS (PRELIMINARILY
NAMED
"MPI") WILL BE SPUN OFF AND ESTABLISHED AS AN INDEPENDENT,
LISTED COMPANY
* SCHIBSTED, MEANWHILE, WILL COMPRISE ALL ACTIVITIES IN
NORWAY,
SWEDEN AND FINLAND - INCLUDING FINN.NO, BLOCKET.SE AND TORI.FI
* WILL RETAIN A MAJORITY OWNERSHIP IN MPI AT TIME OF LISTING
* SCHIBSTED INTENDS TO REMAIN AN ACTIVE, SIGNIFICANT
LONG-TERM
OWNER IN MPI, AND SIZE AND TIME HORIZON OF SCHIBSTED'S OWNERSHIP
WILL BE TAILORED TO SUPPORT AND DEVELOP SHAREHOLDER VALUE FOR
BOTH COMPANIES
* MPI WILL BE ONE OF GLOBAL LEADERS IN ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS,
FULLY
EQUIPPED TO ACHIEVE LONG TERM GROWTH WITH HIGH PROFIT MARGINS
* WILL CONTINUE TO INVEST, BUILDING ON ITS FOOTPRINTS IN
NORDICS
* BOARD HAS APPOINTED ROLV ERIK RYSSDAL AS NEW CEO OF MPI
* AS NEW CEO OF SCHIBSTED ASA, BOARD HAS APPOINTED KRISTIN
SKOGEN
LUND
* SPIN-OFF OF MPI WILL BE DONE PRIMARILY AS A DEMERGER
* SHARES ARE EXPECTED TO START TRADING IN 2019
* BOARD HAS CONCLUDED STRATEGIC REVIEW OF LENDO AND DECIDED
THAT
COMPANY WILL CONTINUE AS A FULLY-OWNED ENTITY, CONSTITUTING A
DRIVING FORCE IN OUR CLUSTER OF PERSONAL FINANCE-RELATED
OPERATIONS
* MPI, NEW, SEPARATELY LISTED COMPANY WILL HAVE A SIMPLIFIED
GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE WITH NO OWNERSHIP OR VOTING LIMITATIONS
* INITIALLY MPI WILL INHERIT SCHIBSTED ASA'S STRUCTURE WITH
A- AND
B-SHARES CARRYING DIFFERENT VOTING
* AS A MAJORITY OWNER WILL SUPPORT AN AMALGAMATION INTO ONLY
ONE
SHARE CLASS IN DUE COURSE AT MPI
* NEW COMPANY WILL BE WELL EQUIPPED TO PLAY AN ACTIVE ROLE
IN ANY
STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE CLASSIFIEDS INDUSTRY
* LENDO PLANS TO LAUNCH ACTIVITIES IN POLAND, DENMARK AND
AUSTRIA
I 2018 AND 2019
* TINIUS TRUST FULLY SUPPORTS BOARD'S PROPOSAL
Source text for Eikon: urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nGNE4ISCxZ
Further company coverage: SBSTA.OL
(Reporting By Terje Solsvik)
((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com;))