Acquisition of printing houses by company Verlagsgruppe Passau, subject to conditions

25 Sep 2006

The Office for the Protection of Competition has approved the concentration of German media group Verlagsgruppe and Czech printing houses NTISK and NOVOTISK subject to conditions.

The Office concluded that there will be a major change in the structure of the newspaper printing market and a significant strengthening of Verlagsgruppe Passau's position as a result of the merger. Therefore the acquiring company had to submitt several pledges that competition will be maintained as there was a real possibility that Verlagsgruppe Passau would influence prices of services and products to the other clients disadvantage. Verlagsgruppe has to modernise the printing houses and maintain the existing conditions for its current clients, for instance, until the market stabilises.

Prague-based NTISK and NOVOTISK in Olomouc, northern Moravia, print the Hospodarske noviny business daily, daily tabloid Aha and the Halo noviny daily. They are in the hands of company Mediacore. Verlagsgruppe already owns Czech printers TYPOS and TYPOS Digital Print in Plzen, western Bohemia, Severotisk in Usti nad Labem, northern Bohemia, and VIVAS prepress and Svoboda Press in Prague.

Several weeks ago the Office approved another acquisition by Verlagsgruppe of the company Svoboda Press.

Press and Personnel Department