Observer acquires Irelands leading media monitoring company
Observer acquires Ireland's leading media monitoring company Media and market monitoring, analysis and communication evaluation company Observer is gaining a foothold in Ireland. The acquisition of News Extracts will further strengthen Observer's international operations. Observer now has a presence in eleven countries. Observer's new Irish acquisition News Extracts has consolidated its position as market leader in media and news monitoring over many decades on the dynamic Irish market. Ireland enjoys one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and has attracted numerous new businesses, not least a large number of international and multinational companies and organizations. As with previous acquisitions, Observer plans to expand and develop on the range of services in Ireland. And by joining a larger organization, News Extracts will have the opportunity to offer a number of value-added services and IT solutions along with other international services. "The acquisition of News Extracts makes our presence complete in the English speaking markets in Europe and gives us a solid foothold in a very interesting market. We see clear synergies with our British operations. This move into Ireland is, together with our latest acquisition in Portugal, a further step in our plans to establish operations on every interesting market in Europe," says Observer's CEO Robert Lundberg. News Extracts has operations in Dublin and Belfast in Northern Ireland. The company has a turnover of SEK 17 million and 50 employees. Facts about Observer AB Observer AB (formerly Sifo Group), listed on the OM Stockholm Exchange's O-list, operates in the fields of media and market monitoring, analysis and communication-evaluation, target group identification for and procurement of information for PR and IR purposes. On a rolling twelve- month basis, Observer AB has a turnover of more than SEK 1,100 million and employs around 1,800 people in the UK, Sweden Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. For further information, please contact: Robert Lundberg, President and CEO, phone +46 8 507 410 10, e-mail robert.lundberg@observergroup.com Hans Strand, COO and head of the Media Intelligence division, phone +46 8 507 417 05, e-mail hans.strand@observergroup.com Jan-Erik Jansson, CFO, phone + 46 8 507 410 14, e-mail jan-erik.jansson@observergroup.com Per Blixt, Senior V P Corporate Communications, phone +46 8 507 410 12/ +46 70-549 28 08, e-mail per.blixt@observergroup.com This press release is also available at: www.observergroup.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/29/20010329BIT00310/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/03/29/20010329BIT00310/bit0002.pdf