Mediahuis acquires full stake in German publisher Medienhaus Aachen
Mediahuis has just acquired the remaining 30 per cent of the shares in the German publisher Medienhaus Aachen GmbH.
At the beginning of 2022, the European media group acquired 70% of the shares in Medienhaus Aachen GmbH from the founding families of the “Aachener Zeitung”.
The remaining 30% then remained in the hands of Rheinische Post Mediengruppe, which has now sold its shares to Mediahuis. With this transaction, Medienhuis Aachen is now fully owned by Mediahuis.
The expansion of its activities to the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia at the beginning of 2022 was an important step for Mediahuis, which entered the German newspaper market for the first time.
As the majority shareholder, Mediahuis has guided the German publisher in the digital transformation project over the past two years. Medienhaus Aachen was able to make full use of the knowledge and scale that Mediahuis as a group has to offer and was thus able to significantly accelerate its digital growth.
Paul Verwilt, COO, Mediahuis group and chairman, Medienhaus Aachen: “Over the past two years, together with CEO Andreas Müller and colleagues from Medienhaus Aachen, we have taken important steps in the digital development of both the organization and its titles. After two years of constructive cooperation with Rheinische Post Mediengruppe, we have jointly agreed that a structure with one shareholder instead of two media groups will benefit the further development of Medienhaus Aachen and will further accelerate its digital transformation. The fact that the publisher of the Aachener Zeitung is now 100% part of the Mediahuis group emphasizes our belief in the continued successful and sustainable future of Medienhaus Aachen and at the same time strengthens Mediahuis' growth ambitions in the German market.”
Johannes Werle, CEO, Rheinische Post Mediengruppe: “A few decades ago, Rheinische Post Mediengruppe became active in the Aachen region through its newspaper Aachener Nachrichten, the first newspaper with a new license in Germany. As a result of the merger with the Aachener Zeitung in 1975, our group had a significant minority share in the merged company. Now the time has come to close this chapter. Rheinische Post Mediengruppe will focus even more strongly on its digitally well-developed and controlled news brands in North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. We would like to thank all employees of Medienhaus Aachen for the good cooperation in the past and wish them all the best for the future.”
Medienhaus Aachen is a media group active in the region of Aachen, Düren and Heinsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia).
In addition to publishing the newspaper Aachener Zeitung, Medienhaus Aachen's portfolio also includes other print and digital media, radio, logistics, trade fairs and postal services. Medienhaus Aachen employs 300 staff (excluding distribution).
Rheinische Post Mediengruppe is a medium-sized media company based in Düsseldorf. It publishes the Rheinische Post, the daily newspaper with the highest circulation in the Rhineland, and the General-Anzeiger Bonn, the daily newspaper with the highest circulation in Bonn and the Rhein-Sieg district.
The media group has a majority stake in the Saarbrücker Zeitungsgruppe, which publishes the titles Saarbrücker Zeitung, Trierischer Volksfreund and Pfälzischer Merkur. The media group's online portals are among the German daily newspapers with the largest reach, while its interest in markt.gruppe Holding ensures a strong position in digital advertising.
The company also has interests in 16 radio stations and eight German advertising magazine publishers with a weekly circulation of approximately 1.9 million copies.
Powerful printing plants in Düsseldorf and Saarbrücken and highly specialized trade media in the transport and logistics sector complete the media group's portfolio. It currently employs approximately 3,000 people in Germany and abroad (excluding distribution).
Since its founding in 2013, Mediahuis has developed a highly diversified portfolio of news media and digital brands. In recent years, the group has made significant progress in the digital transformation of its news brands.
Mediahuis successfully implements paywalls and digital subscription services on its news sites, driven by an optimal customer experience, in combination with strong and independent journalism. More than 30 national and regional news titles provide more than 10 million readers with news every day, both online and in print.
Together with its approximately 4,600 employees, Mediahuis achieves an annual turnover of more than one billion euros.
