Metro International receives bid offer

Posted by Alisa Zykova on February 24, 2009 at 3:45 PM

Freesheet newspaper group Metro International announced Monday that it obtained a bid offer, which caused the company's class A shares to increase by 60 percent, The Guardian reported. The Sweden-based group's overall value is now estimated to be around SEK380 (€34) million.

Metro International, which was not left unaffected by the global financial slump, mentioned that it would be evaluating the interest from an unnamed bidder "expeditiously." A shareholder meeting may be held in Luxembourg on Wednesday in order to discuss a possible takeover as well as a SEK550 (€49) million rights issue.

"The indication of interest will be evaluated expeditiously," Metro said."At this stage there is no certainty that this will lead to a public offer for Metro International, and the board of directors of Metro International is not in a position to express any view on the potential bid. Further communication will be made in due course."

The group added that it would be holding a vote regarding the financial backing but that directors may not be willing to carry out the plan.

Metro International's advertising sales dropped by 14 percent to €85 million or by 10 percent if operations that were shut down or sold are not taken into account. The firm lost a net of €9.8 million during the last three months of 2008, compared to a €3.9 million profit during the same period the previous year.

The freesheet is published in over a hundred cities across 29 countries and has an international audience of over 17 million people per day, according to The Guardian.