The KCI communiqué stated that the concluded agreement concerns boundary conditions for a possible purchase by Pluralis in two tranches, a total of 691.3 thousand share Media Guilds, accounting for 40 percent. share capital and 37.6 percent. votes at the general meeting.
It was justified that the management board of KCI “made a decision to select one of the entities, on a temporary exclusivity basis, as a partner for detailed arrangements regarding strategic cooperation due to the greatest added value both for the company (ie KCI – editor’s note) and for Gremi Media “.
KCI, controlled by companies Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, currently has 1,308 million shares of Gremi Media, representing 75.69 percent. capital and 81.72 percent. votes at the general meeting.
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The company indicated in the announcement that possible sale of 40 percent. of shares in Gremi Media do Pluralis does not end the activities related to the review of strategic options.
Hajdarowicz: less than satisfactory result of talks with Polish investors
“The acquisition of shares by Pluralis BV will ensure, along with a fuller diversification of ownership in Gremi Media, the competences and expertise guaranteed by major international media investors, while allowing the current management to maintain operational control” – stated in a statement posted on the Rzeczpospolita website.
– The situation on the Polish media market is becoming more and more difficult. He is increasingly burdened with the stigma of politics and has a negative impact on him. Rzeczpospolita and Parkiet remain outside the main dividing lines of Polish political life. But they have a clear compass of values - defending the free market, protecting private property, respecting human and civil rights as understood by Western Europe, supporting Polish membership in the European Union and NATO. Not everyone likes it. I tried to find economically strong partners in Poland, ready to co-finance the titles belonging to Gremi. The effect was less than satisfactory. Moreover, I have encountered an attempted hostile takeover of the rights to the titles, under absurd pretexts. Fortunately, the attempt failed, said Grzegorz Hajdarowicz.
– The media world does not stand still. The market is changing fast. What is needed is knowledge about new solutions and technologies, and capital support. It’s worth being part of a larger, stronger group. And that’s what happened. KCI SA has established cooperation with a new investor, the Pluralis BV fund from Amsterdam, he emphasized.
Potential investor related to the Goerge Soros Fund
Pluralis belongs to the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), the Belgian media company Mediahuis and the King Baudouin Foundation.
“Pluralis is supported by a consortium of prestigious European media companies, foundations and influential investors involved in pluralist news media. Pluralis combines its venture capital with world-class media expertise of its shareholders. As an investor in top-quality media companies, regardless of editorial orientation, Pluralis does not engage in making editorial decisions of the company “- the release assured.
– We are glad that we can invest in Gremi Media, the publisher of one of the most respected information brands in Poland. We look forward to working with the current owners and management to continue building a strong business around journalism of the highest caliber, says Luc Tayart de Borms, KBF managing director, shareholder of Pluralis. – Pluralis will draw on the knowledge and experience of its shareholders to support the management of Gremi Media SA through active participation in the management board and transferring the latest industry knowledge to facilitate the company’s development and value creation – he adds.
The Media Development Investment Fund is financially supported by billionaire George Soros. In mid-2016, there is MDIF Media Holdings invested in Agora – bought 5.35 million shares constituting 11.22 percent. the company’s share capital and giving 8.26 percent. votes at its general meeting. The shares were sold, among others by pension funds PTE PZU, Nationale Nederlanden PTE and Aegon PTE.
In turn, SFS Ventures, the Czech subsidiary of MDIF, at the beginning of 2019, together with Agora, bought 100 percent. Eurozet shares, the broadcaster, among others ZET radio. Agora for 40 percent of shares paid PLN 130.7 million, and in autumn 2019, under an agreement with a partner, announced the acquisition of the remaining 60 percent. The President of UOKIK did not consent to this transaction, Agora appealed against his decision to the court.
In the announcement about the agreement regarding the stake in Gremi Media it was emphasized that it will be Pluralis’ second investment in Central Europe – after the purchase at the beginning of this year. 34 percent shares of the Slovak publisher Petit Press.
It has been calculated that Pluralis investors and partners have stakes in companies from various sectors, such as the German GLS Bank, the French digital holding Maxime Kurkdjian or the Tradicor family office, as well as the Soros Economic Development Fund and VP Capital.
In turn, Mediahuis has been operating since 2014, publishing, among others Irish newspapers “Irish Independent”, “The Herald” and “Belfast Telegraph”, Luxembourgish “Luxemburger Wort”, as well as Dutch titles “NRC Handelsblad”, nrc.next, “Dagblad van heta”, “Noorden”, “Leeuwarder Courant” , “Friesch Dagblad”.
“I’m still here, info line unchanged”
Grzegorz Hajdarowicz believes that the offer submitted by Pluralis is the best in terms of Gremi Media’s long-term strategy. – I know that the market was convinced that Rzeczpospolita would be taken over by one of the Polish players. Well, I like to surprise. Information about my departure from the Polish media turned out to be somewhat premature. I’m still here and I’m going to act – Hajdarowicz announced.
– The deal signifies support for Gremi, but the controlling stake of Gremi remains with me. Pluralis, our new significant shareholder, is a company owned by 3 large and respected companies. The King Baudouin Foundation, the strong media group Mediahuis and the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) are partners with an established reputation, sharing the same set of values that have always constituted Gremi. They are financially strong, very active in the media markets in various parts of the world, which additionally gives us access to unique knowledge. At the same time, it is not the shareholders who focus solely on quarterly profit, he calculated.
Grzegorz Hajdarowicz emphasized that the new shareholder would give Gremi Media additional technological and substantive opportunities. – We will be more open to the world, and the world will cooperate more closely with us. The new chapter of the over 100-year-old Rzeczpospolita begins very well – he stressed.
– We will be stronger, more resistant to any attack from outside. The news line of newspapers and websites will remain unchanged. Objectivity, truth, uncomfortable questions asked of every participant in public life, care for the readers – assured the ajdarowicz.
Gremi Media not for Wirtualna Polska, Orlen or PZU
At the end of March this year. KCI announced that it is starting a strategic options review regarding its stake in Gremi Media. It started cooperation with the consulting company Deloitte Advisory, which will be responsible for “carrying out a potential transaction through an open process of obtaining shares purchase offers from interested investors”.
In May, as part of the revised strategy for 2019-2030, KCI announced investments in real estate projects and the Alvernia Planet complex, while Gremi Media only mentioned briefly, among the projects in which it wants to be a minority investor.
According to our findings, at the beginning of November Wirtualna Polska withdrew from talks about the purchase of a controlling stake in Gremi Media from KCI, considering the proposed price to be too high. The state giants Orlen and PZU were to be interested in the takeover, and both officially deny this. KCI is to expect approx. PLN 300 million for the package it holds.
In the first half of November, KCI won the lawsuit against three small investors who wanted to block the company’s transition from the main to the side market of the Warsaw Stock Exchange. To implement this plan, KCI still needs a minimum of 90 percent. votes at the general meeting.
Gremi Media with more influence and profit
In the third quarter of this year. The Gremi Media Group achieved an increase in sales revenues by 5.1%. to PLN 24.35 million and net profit from PLN 3.03 million to PLN 3.12 million.
The company publishes the dailies “Rzeczpospolita” and “Parkiet” and the monthly “Przehamzes Historia”, as well as websites, incl. Rp.pl, Parkiet.com and Sportdziennik.com. According to PBC data, in September this year. the average paid circulation of “Rzeczpospolita” decreased year-on-year by 10.3 percent. to 36,549 copies, and “Parkiet” – increased by 5 percent. up to 4,048 copies. In addition, Gremi Media has majority stakes in e-Kiosk and KancelarieRP and 47 percent. shares of MMC Conferences, which organizes business conferences.
In turn, the KCI capital group achieved a 4.9% increase in sales revenues in the last quarter. to PLN 24.33 million, and its net profit increased from PLN 3.53 to PLN 4.19 millionNS.
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