Sanoma Corporation, Inside Information, 16 July 2020 at 22:20 EET

Sanoma divests its online classifieds business Oikotie to Schibsted for EUR 185 million

Sanoma has divested Oikotie Ltd, a leading online classifieds player in Finland, to Schibsted, the leading player within marketplaces in the Nordics. The agreed enterprise value (EV) of Oikotie is EUR 185 million, corresponding to an EV/EBITDA multiple of 19.6 (based on 2019 pro forma EBITDA). The divestment concludes the evaluation of strategic options for Oikotie, which was announced on 11 February 2020. According to its strategy, Sanoma will use the funds primarily to further grow its learning business.

“The divestment of Oikotie strengthens Sanoma’s strategic focus on Learning and the chosen core businesses of Media Finland: news & feature, entertainment and B2B marketing solutions. Going forward, we will be having EUR 400-500 million headroom for future M&A, where our focus will be on growing especially our learning business. We are working on a solid pipeline of potential targets, even during the current exceptional times with the corona virus pandemic,” says Susan Duinhoven, President and CEO of Sanoma. “I would like to thank the Oikotie team for their commitment and success in growing and developing the business, which is in a very good shape despite the inevitable temporary headwinds due to the corona virus pandemic this year. I am happy that we have found such a good and experienced new owner for this successful business. We are keen to continue to do business with Oikotie and its new owner going forward,” she continues.

“Finland has been home to Schibsted for over a decade. With this acquisition we have a unique opportunity to widen our scope here and show our long-term commitment to the Finnish market. Schibsted already owns Tori, and adding Oikotie to our portfolio will secure us two highly complementary online marketplaces with strong brands and skilled employees in Finland. This gives us a solid platform and enables us to create better digital services for customers in Finland. We look forward to continuing to do business with Sanoma in the future," says Kristin Skogen Lund, CEO of Schibsted.

Oikotie consists of the leading Finnish online classifieds sites in recruiting and housing, as well as sites focused on construction and renovation (rakentaja.fi) and electricity comparison (sahkovertailu.fi). Pro forma 2019, net sales of Oikotie grew to EUR 27.6 million (pro forma 2018: 26.3) and operational EBITDA improved to EUR 9.4 million (pro forma 2018: 8.4). Oikotie had 93 employees (88 FTE) at the end of June 2020, who will transfer to the buyer.

The agreed enterprise value of Oikotie is EUR 185 million, corresponding to an EV / EBITDA multiple of 19.6 (based on 2019 pro forma EBITDA). Together with the divestment of Media Netherlands completed on 20 April 2020, the divestment of Oikotie strengthens Sanoma’s balance sheet by improving the Group’s equity ratio and decreasing its net debt. Going forward, Sanoma will be having EUR 400-500 million headroom for future M&A.

Oikotie will be included in Sanoma’s financial reporting until 31 July 2020. Related to the transaction, Sanoma will book a non-cash capital gain of approx. EUR 163 million including divestment-related transaction costs of approx. EUR 3 million as items affecting comparability (IAC) in Sanoma Media Finland’s Q3 2020 result.

Additional information
Kaisa Uurasmaa, Head of Investor Relations and CSR, Sanoma Corporation tel. +358 40 560 5601
Hanna Johde, Communications Director, Sanoma Media Finland, tel. +358 40 673 8977

About Sanoma

Sanoma is a front-running learning and media company impacting the lives of millions every day. We enable teachers to excel at developing the talents of every child, provide consumers with engaging content, and offer unique marketing solutions to business partners.

Today, we have operations in ten countries including Finland, the Netherlands and Poland. Our net sales totalled EUR 900 million and we employed approx. 3,500 professionals in 2019. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at www.sanoma.com.

About Schibsted

Every day, Schibsted helps millions of people buy, sell, hire and get hired. The company’s mission is to create perfect matches through our trusted marketplaces and innovative solutions. With Blocket in Sweden, Finn in Norway and Tori and Oikotie in Finland, Schibsted meets consumer needs with leading marketplaces. Schibsted wants to help people make better deals, while partnering with companies to help them make the most of their businesses.

Schibsted has the mind of a start-up and the heart of an established company that has stood on its own feet since 1839. The company owns a family of international consumer brands with over 5,000 employees.

Schibsted also owns the majority of Adevinta, a global digital player and the biggest marketplace specialist in Europe, which it spun off in April 2019. Adevinta is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.