Norway’s third-largest newspaper, Dagbladet, and its website dagbladet.no have been the subjects of sales negotiations this week but Dagbladet’s seller and prospective buyer, Aller Media of Denmark, reportedly can’t agree on a price.
Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN), in which Dagbladet’s owner also has a stake, reported that Aller Media is Dagbladet’s most likely buyer and that a “realistic” price for Dagbladet is NOK 200 million to NOK 250 million. The website for Kampanje, which covers media in Norway, has reported that Dagbladet owner Berner Gruppen wants as much as NOK 400 million, much more than DN’s sources think Aller is willing to pay.
DN reported on Thursday that Berner Gruppen is in the final phase of negotiations with Aller, best known for its weekly magazines including Allers, KK, Se og Hør, Henne and Vi over 60. Aller, which also owns Digi.no and Autofil, logged revenues last year of DKK 4 billion and pre-tax profits of DKK 331 million.
Dagbladet has seen its circulation drop in recent to 88,539 in the most recent figures for 2012. The paper also has logged a big drop in ad revenues but has a successful website and DB Medialab, and reportedly wants to be part of a large media concern like Aller. Berner officials have confirmed the negotiations with Aller but wouldn’t comment on their status.
newsinenglish.no staff