Stock Exchange Release 30/6/2010 14:00
Sanoma announced the divestment of Welho business to DNA on 31 May 2010. The necessary approvals by the authorities have now been received and the deal has been completed. The Council of State ruled its decision on 23 June and the competition authorities approved the deal today, 30 June. The cable TV operator Welho business will be a part of the DNA telecommunications group and Sanoma will become DNA's second largest owner with an ownership of 21% as of 1 July 2010.
The enterprise value of the Welho business is EUR 200 million. Sanoma will record a non-recurring capital gain of approximately EUR 185 million. The capital gain will improve Sanoma's earnings per share (EPS) by about EUR 1.14 in 2010.
Sanoma Corporation
Kim Ignatius
Chief Financial Officer
Group Communications, tel. +358 10 519 5062, communications@sanoma.com
Sanoma.com
Sanoma inspires, informs and connects. As a diversified media group, we bring information, experiences, education and entertainment to millions of people every day. We make sure that quality content and interesting products and services are easily available and meet the demands of our readers, viewers and listeners. We offer a challenging and interesting working environment for 20,000 people in over 20 countries throughout Europe. In 2009, the Group's net sales totalled EUR 2.8 billion.
Welho is the largest cable TV operator in Finland and a significant broadband service provider. More than 320,000 homes are connected to Welho's cable network in the Helsinki region. Welho has over 140 digital TV channels in its offering, including the largest HDTV service in Finland, 20 HD channels in total. In 2009, Welho's net sales amounted to EUR 67 million and it employed 205 people.
DNA Ltd is a Finnish telecommunications company providing high-quality, state-of-the-art voice, data and mobile communications and TV services to private customers, organisations and corporations. DNA Group's turnover was EUR 652 million and profit excluding nonrecurring items EUR 63 million in 2009. DNA has around 2.6 million customers.