Norway's Schibsted eyes more acquisitions
09/01/2018 11:18
OSLO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Norwegian media company Schibsted's
SBSTA.OL Chief Executive Rolv Erik Ryssdal expects to make
further acquisitions in online classifieds and is not threatened
by competition from Facebook's Marketplace, he told Reuters on
the sidelines of a conference on Tuesday.
** I'm optimistic ... Facebook and other competitors clearly
see the attractiveness of online classifieds, but their focus is
somewhat different from ours. They try to make people spend more
time on their site, and rely more on collaborations with
partners
** The competition has increased our focus on product
development, but so far the competition has expanded the total
market instead of taking market shares
** Schibsted raised 2.5 billion Norwegian crowns ($308.50
million) in November to finance acquisitions and the CEO says
they are monitoring opportunities continuously
** Our main focus is acquisitions in existing markets, but
we are also looking at adjacent markets
** We have guided on a somewhat lower investment level in
the years to come, because we have fewer countries we invest in,
and those countries are mostly doing well
** We are happy with the development both in Spain and
especially in France, but the competition in Spain is tough, and
a stable Spanish economy will be very important in relation to
our job sites
** Development in Mexico is somewhat slower than Brazil, and
many people are comparing those two markets, but we are
satisfied with the development in Mexico
($1 = 8.1036 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
((camilla.knudsen@thomsonreuters.com; +47 2331 6595; Reuters
Messaging: camilla.knudsen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: SCHIBSTED AQUISITION/