Nearly all shareholders back sale of MTV3 to Sweden

New owners promised that TV operations would remain Finnish

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The sale of the television and radio operations of Alma Media to a Swedish joint venture was approved by an unexpectedly wide margin by Alma Media shareholders. Nearly 99% of votes cast at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting on Monday were in favour of the deal, even though the vote was preceded by a debate lasting nearly three hours.
      The meeting gave its approval to a proposal by the Alma Media board of directors to sell the television networks MTV3 and Subtv, as well as the radio network Radio Nova to a joint venture of the Swedish Bonnier publishing house and the Proventus investment group. The price of the deal was EUR 460 million.
     
Attending the meeting at a large Helsinki cinema were 191 shareholders, representing nearly 80% of Alma Media's voting shares.
      There were some patriotically-motivated questions from shareholders who wondered why no money could be found in Finland to keep a Finnish cultural institution in Finnish hands.
      Some critics said that the planned deal favours large Swedish owners at the expense of small Finnish shareholders. One shareholder, Georg Jauhiainen, said that the deal "endangers the whole apple tree by cutting off a branch that bears much fruit".
      There were also some who questioned the estimates of the Alma Media management of the net value of the company, the financial arrangements, and whether or not Almanova, a new company that is to be formed in connection with the deal, will meet the criteria for being listed on the stock exchange.
     
There was some extra excitement at the meeting provided by the Norwegian Schibsted Group, which had also hoped to aquire Alma Media. Schibsted's CFO Trond Berger proposed that a final decision be postponed until the regular shareholders' meeting in March. The proposal failed to get more than just over one percent support.
      Alma Media CEO Juho Lipsanen noted that a stalemate of sorts arose when Proventus recently bought the shares of Alma Media from three Finnish insurance companies. He said that the deal "unlocked" that situation.
      After the meeting Bengt Braun, the chairman of the board of Alma Media, was also pleased with the result.
      He praised the management of MTV3, and insisted that there would be no changes in personnel or programming.
      Proventus CEO Daniel Sachs was pleased with the "good debate" that preceded the vote, and that the vote was so unambiguous. He also insisted that after the deal, MTV3 will be no less Finnish than it is now.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Alma Media wants to sell MTV3 to Swedes (25.1.2005)
  Alma Media to sell MTV3 and Radio Nova to Swedish media group (24.1.2005)
  Bid for Alma Media seen as prelude to shake-out in Nordic TV market (22.12.2004)
  Norwegian Schibsted Group seeking to buy Alma Media for EUR 705 million (21.12.2004)

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