Ekspress Grupp to sell the printing house Printall to Hans H. Luik
The Supervisory Board of AS Ekspress Grupp, the largest media company in the Baltic States approved the transaction to sell the printing house Printall to the company related to its majority shareholder Hans H. Luik and it will exit the printing services business. Prior to taking effect, the transaction also needs to be approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders.
According to the Chairman of the Management Board of Ekspress Grupp, Mari-Liis Rüütsalu, the Management Board has weighed the options to sell AS Printall as well as other alternatives since the end 2020. The financial advisor Porta Finance was in charge of the evaluation process. “In the course of the evaluation, more than 50 potential buyers were contacted. The best offer from the financial and strategic point of view was made by Trükitung OÜ, controlled by the member of the Supervisory Board of Ekspress Grupp and shareholder Hans H. Luik. The offer price is EUR 10 million,” explained Rüütsalu.
The Supervisory Board of Ekspress Grupp decided to authorise the Management Board to conclude the transaction for selling the shares of AS Printall. Hans H. Luik did not vote on this matter. Prior to the execution of the transaction, the shareholders of Ekspress Grupp need to approve it. To this end, Ekspress Grupp will call an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders on 13 July 2021. Neither Hans H. Luik nor the companies under his control can vote in the Extraordinary General Meeting.
With the sale of Printall, Ekspress Grupp will exit the printing services market and will become a media company with an almost entirely digital revenue base. “In our business, the printing services segment has been declining in importance and Ekspress Grupp has primarily focused on digital revenue growth. The sale of Printall will make funds available for Ekspress Grupp than can be invested to support the growth of the digital business. In the 1st quarter of the current year, digital revenue already contributed 50% to Ekspress Grupp’s total revenue and after the exit from the printing services segment, it will be more than 70%. Post-transaction, Ekspress Grupp will become a modern media company with a large digital revenue base”, said Mari-Liis Rüütsalu.
Hans H. Luik stated that he decided to invest in the acquisition of Printall because he knows the printing business well and despite the changes in the media market, the need for printing services will not disappear anywhere in the near future. “Under the current leadership, the business model of Ekspress Grupp has had a strong digital focus for the last several years and this transaction will provide the Group with financial means to make additional investments in this area. However, I consider it important that the paper products of Ekspress Grupp will retain a strong printing partner. At Printall, we plan to continue providing services to Ekspress Grupp at market conditions as well as offering high-quality printing services to other customers,” said Hans H. Luik.
The printing house Printall that was established in 1971 has been part of Ekspress Grupp since 1998.