Flemish media giant makes bid for Dutch Telegraaf Media

Mediahuis, the Flemish publishing house that produces De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad and The Bulletin among other titles, has confirmed it has begun talks with the Dutch publishing group Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG), with a view to a possible takeover. The bid for TMG is in conjunction with Dutch investment company VP Exploitatie.

Mediahuis, based in Groot-Bijgaarden, just outside of Brussels, was created in 2013 when Corelio, publisher of De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad, merged with Concentra, publisher of Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg. TMG publishes the popular broadsheet De Telegraaf, the Netherlands’ biggest-selling newspaper, with 450,000 copies a day. TMG also publishes the Dutch-language edition of Metro and the regional Noordhollands Dagblad.

An acquisition would considerably strengthen Mediahuis’s position in the Netherlands – where it already owns NRC Media and De Limburger.

The Dutch business daily Financieele Dagblad reports that Mediahuis is prepared to offer €5.25 per share for TMG, a premium of 50% over the current share price, valuing the group at €243 million. Mediahuis is not confirming the figures at this time.

Trading in shares in TMG was suspended on Wednesday. Financieele Dagblad reports that the Van Puijenbroek family, the major shareholder in TMG, was in favour of the bid.

TMG, which employs more than 2,000 people and is based in Amsterdam, made a loss last year of €23.6 million on sales of €482 million, making it prey for a takeover bid. It is the Netherlands’ largest media company after De Persgroep, which is also Flemish. De Persgroep is based in Asse, Flemish Brabant, and publishes De Morgen, Het Laatste Nieuws and De Tijd.

Photo courtesy De Telegraaf