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PRINT THIS PAGE VSS and Mecom to buy Berliner Verlag from Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck26/10/2005. Source: AltAssets. 
 US media buy-out specialist Veronis Suhler Stevenson and David Montgomery's investment company Mecom Group have agreed to buy Berliner Verlag from Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck. The purchase price has not been disclosed but a report in the Financial Times suggests that VSS and Mecom paid around €160m for the German publisher.
Berliner Verlag publishes the daily newspapers Berliner Zeitung and Berliner Kurier for the German federal states Berlin and Brandenburg.
This is the first time German dailies have been sold to foreign investors. Holtzbrinck had to sell Berliner Verlag because of an antitrust ruling.
David Montgomery, the former chief executive of the Mirror Group and now chairman of the Mecom Group, will become the chairman of the supervisory board of Berliner Verlag. Gerd Schulte-Hillen will be vice chairman.
Marco Sodi, partner at VSS, said, 'We are extremely pleased with the acquisition and the fact that David Montgomery joins as chairman of the company. David has a long-standing successful career in the newspaper industry.'
David Montgomery, chairman of Mecom Group, commented, 'We have the highest regard for the German newspaper industry and we know that Berliner Verlag is an excellent company. We will be proud custodians of the titles within Berliner Verlag, committed to the highest journalistic standards, editorial integrity and good management. I am especially delighted that Gerd Schulte-Hillen will join the board. He is one of Germany's most respected publishers with a distinguished career.'
Johannes von Bismarck and Morgan Callagy, both managing directors of VSS, added, 'Berliner Verlag will be the enabling platform for our "buy and build"-strategy. This is a long-term investment and we will work with great commitment to further grow and build the business, both organically and through acquisition.'
'The German newspaper market is one of the most fragmented markets in Europe. Veronis Suhler Stevenson has a successful track record through buy and builds and we intend to make this the leading regional newspaper publishing company in Germany,' they continued.
The parties expect the deal to close at the end of November.
VSS is a private equity and mezzanine capital fund management company dedicated to investing in the media, communications and information industries in North America and Europe. VSS provides capital for buy-outs, recapitalisations, growth financings and strategic acquisitions to companies and management teams with a goal to build companies both organically and through a focused add-on acquisition programme.
Mecom Group is the AIM-listed investment vehicle founded by David Montgomery. It focuses on acquiring and developing media assets. Montgomery has held a variety of senior editorial and managerial roles in the UK newspaper industry.
Copyright © 2005 AltAssets
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