News

PRESS RELEASE

- Closing planned for November 2, 2015

- Acquisition expected to contribute mid-range single-digit million figure to earnings in
  2015

- Deutsche Telekom AG will receive approximately 11.5% of increased share capital of
  Ströer SE

Cologne, September 21, 2015 The German competition authority Bundeskartellamt approved the acquisition of Germany's largest internet portal, t-online.de, and the country's biggest digital marketer, InteractiveMedia, according to AGOF Digital Facts, without any restrictions. The transaction value is some EUR 300 million and will take place as part of a capital increase at Ströer against contributions in kind from both companies. Deutsche Telekom AG will be a shareholder of Ströer and will hold around 11.5% of Ströer's increased capital.

"We are pleased with the Bundeskartellamt's approval. Thanks to our experience in the consolidation of the external advertising market in Germany, we will be able to integrate our digital acquisition quickly and efficiently and leverage synergies across the entire value chain. We expect the online advertising market to continue to consolidate in future, both in terms of inventory and data. The feedback from everyone we talked to at the world's largest digital trade fair, dmexco, in Cologne last week was absolutely clear: the acquisition of t-online.de, InteractiveMedia and OMS (the latter is subject to approval from the Bundeskartellamt) lifts us to new heights as a group and will further generate greater interest in our products and communication solutions among our customers," commented Udo Müller, CEO of Ströer SE.

On August 27, 2015, just a few days after signing the sales agreement for the acquisition of t-online.de and InteractiveMedia, AGOF established the first standardized coverage currency for internet usage in Germany after two years of preparation and overcoming significant methodological obstacles. This new currency now provides for a comprehensive, integrated and device-independent overview of internet usage in Germany, creating a new benchmark for the entire industry.

According to AGOF, the unconditional approval of the acquisition of InteractiveMedia by the Bundeskartellamt makes Ströer (excl. OMS) the clear leader in the German market in terms of reach with 42.95 million internet users. t-online.de, which was additionally acquired by Ströer, is Germany's largest internet portal in terms of reach. It also sharply increased its lead in the ranking with more than 31 million users, compared to eBay with some 21 million users.

Extrapolation of marketers ranking after the merger of Ströer Digital and InteractiveMedia's range of services based on the current AGOF ranking 06/2015 Digital Facts

	Websites	Unique users (million)	Reach (%)
1	T-Online	31.37	45.30
2	eBay.de	21.27	30.70
3	gutefrage.net	20.51	29.60
4	BILD	18.80	27.20
5	WEB.DE	18.76	27.10
6	FOCUS Online	18.03	26.00
7	Wetter.com	17.31	25.00
8	SPIEGEL ONLINE	16.44	23.70
9	CHIP	15.56	22.50
10	GMX	15.32	22.10

 

	Marketer	Unique users (millions)	Reach (%)
1	Ströer Digital*	42.95	81.2
2	United Internet Media	36.15	68.4
3	Axel Springer Media Impact	35.22	66.6
4	ForwardAdGroup	33.6	63.6
5	SevenOne Media	33.54	63.5
6	OMS	28.36	53.7
7	IP Deutschland	28.2	53.3
8	G+J e|MS	26.99	51.1
9	eBay Advertising Group Deutschland	25.21	47.7
10	iq digital	20.89	39.5

 

*Ströer Digital, including InteractiveMedia CCSP

"We are on the right track with a clear number-one position in standardized, integrated reach in internet usage in Germany. With 42.95 million unique users, we reach more than 80 percent of all German internet users. Our objective is to continue to expand our position in the coming quarters," said Udo Müller, CEO of Ströer SE.

The closing of the acquisitions of t-online.de and InteractiveMedia is scheduled for November 2, 2015. A mid-range single-digit million contribution to earnings is expected in the current fiscal year, and Ströer expects to see a boost for the Christmas business. Consolidated revenue in the portal business of t-online.de and the online marketer InteractiveMedia will total more than EUR 100 million in 2015. The expected consolidated contribution of both companies to Ströer SE's operational EBITDA amounts to around EUR 35 million before synergies. The acquisition immediately lifts earnings per share. In this context, an increase of at least five percent is anticipated before synergies in 2016.
 

About Ströer
Ströer SE is a big digital multi-channel media company, and offers its advertising customers individualized and fully integrated premium communications solutions. In the field of digital media, Ströer is setting forward-looking standards for innovation and quality in Europe and is opening up new opportunities for targeted customer contact for its advertisers.
The Ströer Group commercializes several thousand websites especially in German-speaking countries and around 300,000 advertising faces in the field of "out-of-home". The Group has approximately 2,500 employees at over 70 locations.

In the full year 2014, Ströer SE generated consolidated revenue of EUR 721m.

The Ströer SE is listed on the SDAX of the German Stock Exchange.

For more information on the Company, please visit www.stroeer.com.

 

Disclaimer

This press release contains "forward looking statements" regarding Ströer SE ("Ströer") or the Ströer Group, including opinions, estimates and projections regarding Ströer's or the Ströer Group's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management and future operations. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Ströer or the Ströer Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are based on numerous assumptions which may or may not prove to be correct. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Ströer with respect to the fairness, completeness, correctness, reasonableness or accuracy of any information and opinions contained herein. The information in this press release is subject to change without notice, it may be incomplete or condensed, and it may not contain all material information concerning Ströer or the Ströer Group. Ströer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or other information stated herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Press contact:
Marc Sausen
Ströer SE
Director Corporate Communications
Ströer-Allee 1 | D-50999 Cologne
Telephone: +49 (0)2236 - 96 45-246
Fax: +49 (0)2236 - 96 45-6246
E-Mail: info@stroeer.de

IR Contact:
Dafne Sanac
Ströer SE
Manager Investor Relations
Ströer-Allee 1 | D-50999 Cologne
Phone: +49 (0)2236 / 96 45-356
Fax: +49 (0)2236 / 96 45-6356
E-Mail: dsanac@stroeer.de