Cision divests Finnish Monitor and Analyze Business
On July 1, 2011, Cision completed the divestment of its Monitor and Analyze business in Finland to M-Brain Oy, a leading company in the Finnish media intelligence and business intelligence market. The divestment comprise all shares in the the legal entity Cision Finland Oy. The divested Monitor and Analyze business had revenues of about EUR 8 million in 2010 and about 95 employees as of June 30 2011. The divestment does not include Cision’s Finnish Plan and Connect business, with revenues of about EUR 0,7 million in 2010 and about 7 employees as of June 30 2011, which was separated before completion and retained by Cision.
The purchase price for the divested unit was EUR 4,23 million on a cash and debt free basis, of which EUR 3,73 million will be paid on July 1 2011 and EUR 0,5 million will be paid in July 2012. Cision Finland has experienced negative organic growth of about -13% in 2010 and -5% in the first quarter of 2011, with a low profitability for this period, including certain allocated regional and group costs.
Following the divestment, Cision Finland will offer customers a complete offering through the CisionPoint service platform, with an initial emphasis on Plan and Connect Services as well as social media monitoring. Media monitoring will be provided through internet sources, electronic feeds from news aggregators and through a reseller agreement with M-Brain Oy. Analysis services will be delivered through automated analysis dashboards through the CisionPoint analysis module.
“This divestment is another important step towards completing the transformation of our European region, from a labor intensive, low growth operations to a much leaner, software driven business, with high gross margins and a large share of recurring revenues. Following a total of six divestments in Europe in the past three years, we believe we are now much better positioned for profitable growth in the years to come. ” says Hans Gieskes, CEO of the Cision Group.
For further information, please contact:
Hans Gieskes, CEO and President, telephone +46 (0)8 507 410 10
E-mail: hans.gieskes@cision.com
Erik Forsberg, CFO, telephone +46 (0)8 507 410 91
E-mail: erik.forsberg@cision.com
Cision AB (publ)
P O Box 24194, SE-104 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone: +46 8 507 410 00
http://corporate.cision.com
The information provided herein is such that Cision AB (publ) is obligated to disclose pursuant to the Swedish Securities Markets Act (SFS 2007:528) and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act (SFS 1991:980). The information was submitted for publication at 8.30 AM CEST on July 1, 2011.
Cision is the leading provider of software, services, and tools to the public relations and marketing industry. Marketing and PR professionals use our products to help manage all aspects of their brands – from identifying key media and influencers to connecting with audiences; monitoring traditional and social media; and analyzing outcomes. Journalists, bloggers, and other influencers use Cision’s tools to research story ideas, track trends, and maintain their public profiles. Cision is present in Europe, North America and Asia, with partners in over 125 countries and is quoted on the Nordic Exchange with revenue of SEK 1.1 billion in 2010. For more information, visit www.cision.com.