The investment group Penta today signed a purchase agreement with the German concern Verlagsgruppe Passau, according to which it gains 100% of shares issued by the company Vltava-Labe-Press, a.s. The company publishes the most important regional press medium in the Czech Republic Deníky, and also runs the Novotisk printing house.
Another part of the acquisition is a 51% share in the company Astrosat Media, s.r.o., represented for example by the magazines Květy, Vlasta, Story, TV magazín and National Geographic Česko, as well as a 70% share in the company Česká distribuční, a.s, a minority 35% share in PNS, a.s., and also a 30% share in the company AdActive, s.r.o.
“The assets and media represented by VLP-group are for us an interesting and long-term investment opportunity especially as concerns the business synergy with our companies, focusing on the end customer. For the publishing house itself we want to ensure further financial stability and development that will follow the current modern trends, while a clear priority is a strengthening of the importance of Deník in the regions,” Zdeněk Kubát, investment director of Penta said.
Simone Tucci-Diekmann, managing director and shareholder of Verlagsgruppe Passau responsible for the activities in Germany and the Czech Republic: “Verlagsgruppe Passau has in the past two decades built up one of the largest media companies in the Czech Republic. We decided on the sale for strategic reasons. The transaction allows us to continue implementing the growth strategy we have begun in recent years in particular in Germany. The Diekmann family would like to thank to the management and all employees in the Czech Republic for the excellent and successful cooperation in the past 24 years. We are convinced that VLP-group has a very good growth perspective under the new ownership.“
The transaction is a subject of the approval by the Antimonopoly Office. The purchaser and the seller have agreed that no further information on the details of the transaction will be provided.