Metro International ("Metro") today announced that it has increased its stake in Metro St Petersburg from 58.5 percent to 95 percent.
Metro sees Russia as a strategically important market and bought the initial 58.5 percent stake in Metro St Petersburg in 2009. The Metro newspaper has a 27 percent market share of the print advertising market in St Petersburg.
Metro has now bought an additional 36.5 percent stake from the two founders of Metro St Petersburg. Metro bought the 36.5 percent stake for EUR5.1m, representing a valuation of 4x EBIT.
Metro International publishes 104 daily editions in 27 countries around the world. Metro is read by more than 25 million readers daily in over 200 major cities across Europe, North and South America and Asia. In Latin America, Metro is present in Chile, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala and Mexico.
In 2010, Pablo Mazzei, head of Metro International in Latin America said to Portada that Metro was betting on making Latin America a major market — if not the main one — for its expansión. At those days, Metro was only present in Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador.
Portada analyzed the expansion of the region’s free newspaper market and the factors behind the expansion.
