Schibsted to spin off international online classifieds in IPO (updated)
18/09/2018 12:22
* Eyes H1 2019 IPO for fast-growing non-Nordic business
* Intends to remain significant shareholder over time
* A major positive move, brokerage says
* Shares surge more than 10 percent
(Adds analyst comment, background)
By Camilla Knudsen
OSLO, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Norwegian media group Schibsted
SBSTA.OL said on Tuesday it will spin off its fast-growing
international online classified ads operations in an initial
public offering, sending its shares surging more than 10
percent.
Schibsted Chief Executive Rolv Erik Ryssdal will become CEO
of the new company, which is likely to list in the first half of
next year, the group said.
Kristin Skogen Lund, head of Norwegian business lobby the
Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise and a former Schibsted
executive, will take over as CEO of the rest of Schibsted, which
will keep its newspapers and Nordic online ad business.
Originally a newspaper group, Schibsted in the 1990s created
websites carrying ads for buying and selling items online,
taking a dominant position in its native Norway and later
expanding to more than 20 countries around the world.
Its non-Nordic online classifieds business generated
revenues of 4.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($587 million) last
year, jumping 22 percent from the previous year, according to
the group's annual report.
The Schibsted group as a whole saw revenues rise just 7
percent last year to 16.9 billion crowns.
While the business to be spun off only generates around a
quarter of group revenues and employs a third of its staff, its
greater growth potential means it is likely to represent 60
percent of the group's market value, brokerage Pareto Securities
said.
Schibsted's market capitalisation was around 75 billion
crowns after Tuesday's share price surge.
"We consider such a move a major positive in terms of
highlighting the online classifieds values of the company,"
Pareto said in a note to clients.
Schibsted's 'A' shares were up 10.5 percent at 328.8
Norwegian crowns at 1013 GMT while its 'B' shares had surged
13.8 percent to 305 crowns.
SIGNIFICANT SHAREHOLDER
The new entity - provisionally named MPI - will have
international operations in 17 countries including Germany,
France, Brazil, Morocco and Thailand and currently has a staff
of around 2,800.
"MPI will be one of the global leaders in online
classifieds, fully equipped to achieve long-term growth with
high-profit margins," Schibsted said.
Schibsted will maintain a majority stake in the new firm at
the time of the listing, and said it plans to remain a
significant shareholder over the long term.
The IPO is expected to take place in the first half of 2019,
but the company has not yet decided whether the listing should
take place in Oslo or elsewhere, it told Reuters.
Unlike Schibsted, MPI will not have a two-tier system of
shareholders, opting instead to assign equal voting rights to
all owners.
Separately, Schibsted has decided to maintain full ownership
of its Lendo financial service, despite significant interest
from potential partners, it added.
($1 = 8.1750 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Camilla Knudsen; Editing by
Jason Neely and Susan Fenton)
((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70; Reuters
Messaging: terje.solsvik.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))