Cision Divests U.S. Print Monitoring Operations to BurrellesLuce
On June 25, 2012, Cision announced the sale of its U.S. print monitoring operations to BurrellesLuce. The purchase price for the divested unit was USD 2.0 million, of which USD 1.5 million will be paid in equal quarterly installments during 2013. In addition Cision will receive an earn-out over a three year period estimated to approximately USD 4 million. The transition of all hardcopy print monitoring services to BurrellesLuce is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2012.
Cision expects the balance of net proceeds and non-recurring costs from this transaction to be cash positive, with a negative impact of about SEK 7 million on the group’s full year 2012 operating profit after non-recurring costs.
Cision’s U.S. print-monitoring revenue and margin has been steadily declining over the past decade as customers moved to online sources of news and information and had revenues of about USD 11 million in 2011. The sale follows seven other divestments of Cision print monitoring operations in Europe over the past four years.
“With the divestment of the US print monitoring business Cision will make a further important strategic step in its transformation to a fully digital, software-driven business that conforms to the changes in the media landscape,” says Hans Gieskes, CEO of the Cision Group.
Cision will continue providing its extensive digital media monitoring services including online, social and broadcast monitoring, and will continue to expand its other award-winning services including influencer identification, media measurement and analysis.
No further impact is expected for the second quarter from that disclosed in Cision’s trading update of June 12, 2012.
For more information:
Hans Gieskes, CEO, phone. +46 8 507 410 00
Tosh Bruce-Morgan, CFO, phone. +44 7710 385 006
E-mail: investorrelations@cision.com
Cision AB (publ)
P.O. Box 24194
SE-104 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Corp Identity No. SE556027951401
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 08:30 AM CEST on June 25, 2012.
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 1.0 billion in 2011. This press release is also available at http://corporate.cision.com.