Sanoma merges operations in Finland to focus on th

Sanoma Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, 31 October 2013 at 08:45 CET+1

As part of redesign of its consumer media operations, Sanoma merges its Finnish media operations in the turn of the year into Finland’s largest media company. Sanoma Media Finland invests in developing contents, in multichannel offering, and in closer internal co-operation. This also lays foundation for new business and growth. The merger and reorganization mean changes and reshaping of the operating models in the entire organization. As part of this, co-operation negotiations will be initiated in the editorial organizations of Helsingin Sanomat, Nelonen news and Metro with the estimated effect of a maximum of 70 redundancies.

Finland’s largest media company, Sanoma Media Finland Oy, will be established in the turn of the year by merging Sanoma’s Finnish media operations. It reaches nearly all Finns with its extensive media portfolio every day. The merged companies employ in total approximately 3,000 people and their net sales in year 2012 totalled EUR 720 million.

“Finland is our important core market. Here we have a strong market position and excellent preconditions to lead the development of the business. We are in the midst of a challenging transformation of the business which, however, will open us new possibilities and growth areas. Investing in them requires a new operating model from us,” says Harri-Pekka Kaukonen, CEO and President of Sanoma.

Sanoma Media Finland comprises four business units: Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat, Magazine Media and Nelonen Media. To coincide, Sanoma Lehtimedia, a publisher of free sheets and regional newspapers, is transferred to report in the Helsingin Sanomat organisation.

The new company aims to strengthen its market position and develop the portfolio in different media platforms, to tighten co-operation and to develop operations in the strategically important areas in order to better cater to the needs of the customers. The focus will especially be on digital solutions, commercial operations and content strategy, where the best operating model and concrete co-operation benefits will be seeked for during the remainder of the year. Digital development will be enhanced by tightening co-operation both internationally and between the business units.

“Sanoma Media Finland combines the best contents, media brands and target group insight of the country. We have an excellent view on how the use of media is changing, and we want to redirect our work and organization to reflect this view. We have excellent preconditions to offer the Finnish audience the most interesting and inspirational content in all channels,” says Pekka Soini who has been appointed CEO of Sanoma Media Finland.

The merger and reorganization mean changes and reshaping of the operating models in the entire organization. At the same time, the business and product portfolio will also be evaluated. It is too early to estimate the potential impact on the personnel.  

As part of the revamp of product portfolio, and as part of the Group-wide savings programme, the development of editorial processes will now continue in Helsingin Sanomat, Nelonen news and Metro. Additionally, Nelonen Media plans to discontinue the current form of the TV news produced by Helsingin Sanomat, and to permanently lower the cost level; instead Sanoma is planning a new, online-driven news concept. Due to these plans, co-operation negotiations will be initiated in the editorial offices of Helsingin Sanomat, Nelonen news and Metro as of 5 November 2013. The procedure is estimated to lead to a maximum of 70 redundancies.

“We have to renew ourselves. It is important for us to also keep our operations financially profitable. It is a prerequisite for independent journalism,” says Kaius Niemi, Senior Editor-in-Chief of Helsingin Sanomat.

“This is tough for our editorial offices, and we aim to handle the transformation in good co-operation with the personnel. We want to ensure our ability to produce quality journalism for the Finnish audience by focusing our strength in our core business,” Niemi says.

Additional information

Sanoma Corporation: Harri-Pekka Kaukonen Sanoma Media Finland: Pekka Soini Helsingin Sanomat: Kaius Niemi Nelonen Media: Pia Kalsta

Interview bookings and call requests Jenny Savikko, tel. +358 40 579 9850

Sanoma’s Group Communications, Hanna Johde, tel. +358 40 673 8977, hanna.johde@sanoma.com

Sanoma’s Investor Relations, Martti Yrjö-Koskinen, tel. +358 40 684 4643 or ir@sanoma.com

Sanoma.com

Get the world. Sanoma helps people access and understand the world. Sanoma is a front runner in consumer media and learning in Europe. We employ around 10,000 professionals in more than 10 countries. In 2012, the Group’s net sales totalled EUR 2.4 billion. Sanoma’s share is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki.