Independent Media (IM)

Until 2005, the ID was named Independent Media, after its sale to the Finnish media group from 2005 to 2011 - Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, and later from 2011 to 2015 - Sanoma Independent Media.

Aktivs

As of July 2017, Independent Media's assets include:

Premium Publishing LLC:

• Cosmopolitan,
• Cosmopolitan Shopping,
• Cosmopolitan Beauty,
• "Home Hearth,"
• Harper’s Bazaar,
• Esquire,
• "Robb Report Russia,"
• "Popular Mechanics";

Premium Independent Media LLC:

• Grazia;
• Photo agency Fotoimedia.

Moskoutimes LLC:

• Men’s Health,
• Women’s Health,
• "National Geographic Russia,"
• National Geographic Traveler,
• "Agroinvestor,"
• "Agrotechnics and Technology,"
• Go Publishing client project.

Closed editions

• Gloria is a women's magazine (closed in February 2009)
• SmartMoney (a joint project of the founders of the Vedomosti newspaper - the British corporation Pearson Plc., which publishes the Financial Times, the American company Dow Jones & Company, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, and Independent Media Sanoma Magazines). The magazine closed in early 2009.
• Best Life
• Mamas & Papas (closed in summer 2013)
• Newspapers "Na Rublevka" and "Na Novaya Riga" (closed in December 2014)
• The St. Petersburg Times (closed December 2014)
• Collezioni (closed in early 2015)
• Yes! - youth magazine and yes.com.ru (closed in February 2015)
• ameno.ru is a website for modern young women. He worked since the beginning of 1999.

Performance indicators

2014: Collapse of revenue due to the collapse of the ruble and hryvnia

Revenue of Sanoma Corporation in the CIS countries Russia for the fourth quarter of 2014 amounted to 4.7 million euros. For the same period in 2013, Sanoma earned 30.2 million euros, the fall in revenue year-on-year amounted to more than 84%. Data on the company's income were published in the statements for 2014. The revenue of the regional branch in Russia and the CIS was affected by a change in the exchange ruble rate and hryvnia: Sanoma's total losses for this reason amounted to 40.4 million euros^[1]

The fourth quarter was the worst in terms of revenue in 2014 for this regional direction of Sanoma: in the first and third quarters this direction accounted for 22 and 21.7 million euros of revenue, respectively, in the third quarter there was a drop in revenue to 5.7 million euros, subsequently the fall continued. The company's turnover in 2014 from business in Russia and Ukraine amounted to 54.1 million euros against 111.8 million euros a year earlier.

History

2017: Maria Komarova appointed CEO

Publishing house Independent Media (IM) announces the appointment of Maria Komarova CEO of the group of companies. Maria began her duties on April 24, 2017.

Maria Komarova is a well-known media manager with extensive experience in the media. At various times, she was a member of the top management of such companies as Kommersant, UTV-Media and the Choose Radio group of companies.

Sergey Azatyan, Managing Partner of Inventor Partners - IM Shareholder:

"We are pleased to welcome Maria to a new position and wish her success in implementing the strategy of building a multi-platform media company."

"I am honored to head a publishing house with such a rich history, legendary brands and a strong team of professionals," said Maria Komarova. - The main task that shareholders set before the company and before me is to develop the business in the conditions of modern challenges for the media industry and, in particular, the print media industry. IM premium brands are a truly unique asset with tremendous potential both online and in print. We will continue to actively work to continue to offer our audience interesting, high-quality and innovative products. "

"We are grateful to Elena Smetanina for her effective work in the and position. about. CEO. Over the past year, the team under her leadership has shown excellent results both in the magazine segment and in the digital sector, - said Sergey Azatyan. - Over the past year alone, the total audience of the holding on the Internet increased by 80%, and for certain projects, such as Cosmo.ru, the growth exceeded 150%. Elena will continue to work in the company as an operating director. "

IM Operations Director Elena Smetanina: "Today we have everything to look forward confidently and with optimism: premium brands, advertiser trust, millions of readers throughout Russia. We are a leading company in the market that knows exactly how to bring an advertising campaign to a target audience, whether it is a message to the masses or a jewelry-calibrated one for the premium segment. We are grateful to the advertisers who choose us and trust us with the toughest projects. "

2016: Inventor Partners combines all assets under the Independent Media brand

On May 27, 2016, it was announced that the Inventor Partners Foundation had merged its media assets under a single Independent Media (IM) brand - Fashion Press LLC, Premium Publishing LLC and Premium Independent Media LLC.

IM includes projects: Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan Shopping, Cosmopolitan Beauty, Harper's Bazaar, Home Hearth, Esquire, Popular Mechanics, Robb Report Russia, Grazia, their online versions, as well as photo bank Fotoimedia. In addition, Moskoutimes LLC will be published under the IM brand.

Elena Smetanina, who has been the executive director of IM since May, has been appointed acting general director of the media company. Elena began working for Independent Media in 2001 as an advertising sales manager. In 2002, Elena was appointed advertising director of the Popular Mechanics magazine, since 2006 she became its publisher. Since December 2015, Elena Smetanina has been the General Director of Premium Publishing Holding LLC.

Jean-Emmanuel de Witt, who served as CEO of Sanoma Independent Media, will not be part of the management of the new media company, but he will remain an adviser to IM's board.

"We are glad that we will continue to publish leading media in the fashion and life style segments under the Independent Media brand," said Sergey Azatyan, Managing Partner of Inventor Partners. - This is a truly unique asset with great potential both online and in the print media market. Elena and the top management of the company have established themselves as an excellent team, thanks to which we are confident in the future. "

"We would like to thank Jean-Emmanuel for his leadership over the last few years," said Duncan Edwards, president and CEO of Hearst Magazines International. "We are very pleased that he remains with us as an adviser."

2015

Inventor Partners buys Sanoma's stake in Fashion Press and Grazia magazine

On December 30, 2015, Inventor Partners announced that a consortium of investors managed by Inventor Partners was acquiring Sanoma's stake in Hearst Independent Media Publishing B.V., the parent company of Fashion Press LLC. Fashion Press's portfolio includes some of the most famous print magazines in Russia: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Popular Mechanics, Harper's BAZAAR and Home Hearth, their online media and Robb Report magazine. Hearst, one of the world's largest media companies, remains an active shareholder and will continue to support business in Russia.

In addition to Fashion Press, Inventor Partners fully acquires Mondadori Independent Media LLC (publishes Grazia magazine).

Inventor Partners plans to develop Fashion Press print media, and also intends to grow a leader in online media from the company with a focus on the segments of fashion, lifestyle and new technologies, using its expertise in the development of technological products, online marketing and advertising. Inventure Partners said it will develop innovative, customer-centric products within the company and new business models for the publishing market.

"We are extremely pleased to become a shareholder of a leading Russian publishing house and work with such world famous brands as Cosmopolitan and Esquire. I hope that cooperation with Hearst Corporation will help us open a new stage in the development of modern media in Russia, "commented Sergey Azatyan, co-founder and managing partner of Inventor Partners

.

"We see huge potential in the Russian market, especially in the online space. Together with a consortium of investors under the management of Inventor Partners, we will open up new horizons for our publications. With Hearst Corporation's access to the world's best practices in print and digital media, a qualified management team and expertise of Inventor Partners in the Russian market, we are confident that we will achieve significant growth of the company and its success, "said Duncan Edwards, President of Hearst Magazines International

.

Kudryavtsev buys The Moscow Times and several magazines from Sanoma

In 2015, it became known that Demyan Kudryavtsev became the owner of the company publishing The Moscow Times. Later, the same legal entity bought from the Finnish Sanoma the rights to publish the following publications in Russia:

• Harvard Business Review
• Men's Health,
• Women's Health,
• National Geographic
• Agroinvestor

Until 2015, the Russian publishing house, owned by the Finnish company Sanoma, published about 50 glossy publications for men and women. Another important activity was the business press. SIM operated as a whole, but consisted of several legal entities.

The largest of them by revenue (November 2013) - Fashion Press, published the magazines Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar, etc. Sanoma owned Fashion Press in half with American Hearst.

Together with the Italian Mondadori, the Finnish company published Grazia magazine.

By January 1, 2016, in connection with the entry into force of the law on limiting the shares of foreigners in the Russian media, Sanoma sold its shares in legal entities in Russia.

The fate of the publications presented below remained unclear:

• Tasty and healthy
• Wedding
• Prime Traveller - Geography and Travel Edition

• www.webpark.ru is one of the leaders of the Runet in the dynamically developing blog market.
• www.wedding-magazine.ru is a site for brides and those who dream of getting married.

A separate area of ​ ​ Custom Publishing, specializing in the publication of client journals. The portfolio included the following editions:

• Arbat-Prestige,
• Orange Orange,
• Bacardi&Martini,
• HLCiti,
• 36,6 ProLife,
• Consul,
• Bluestone,
• Ideas for Life et al.

HPMD Network selected as partner to monetize mobile sites

On July 28, 2015, it became known that the promising startup HPMD Network became the partner of Sanoma Independent Media Publishing House for the monetization of mobile traffic. HPMD Ads' new mobile advertising management technology is now used by the mobile websites of key magazines of the publishing house.

Other partners selling mobile advertising on SIM sites (for example, Ad in App, iVengo) have integrated with HPMD Ads and use this system. HPMD Ads technology allows you to place mobile advertising formats both inside and on top of the content of sites viewed from mobile devices.

The publisher uses HPMD Ads technology for advertizing on the mobile websites of key editions - the magazines Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Bazaar, Esquire, "Popular Mechanics" and others, in total 11 platforms (cosmo.ru, mhealth.ru, bazaar.ru, esquire.ru, popmech.ru, graziamagazine.ru, goodhouse.ru, rb.ru, whrussia.ru, hbr-russia.ru, nat-geo.ru).

The cost of placing mobile advertising in HPMD Network packages ranges from 330 to 1100 rubles. per thousand impressions (CPM). At the same time, both HPMD Network and SIM can sell formats.

The cooperation between SIM and HPMD Network began in early 2015 with the placement of the Swipe-banner SIM format on SIM sites as part of the GAP and MegaFon advertising campaigns. The publisher then did not have the technology to independently manage all ongoing mobile campaigns, and began to first test the proposed HPMD solution, and then began to use it as a priority. Since April, SIM has also started its own sales of the Swipe-banner format.

At the end of July 2015, advertisers used HPMD Network formats when conducting a project on mobile sites, including SIM publications, more than 20 advertising campaigns, the volume of which amounted to about 20 million impressions, and the budget exceeded 7 million rubles (brands L'Oreal, Audi, Viber, Nike, Sony Pictures, Samsung, Levi's, P&G, Max Factor, LVMH, H&M, VW, etc.).

"Having started working with HPMD Network, we found that the new partner is ready not only to sell our mobile traffic, but also has a tool for our independent sales," says Valeria Sergeyeva, director of agency relations at Sanoma Independent Media. - The mobile advertising management system offered by HPMD Network turned out to be simple, reliable and convenient, which is especially important in the context of the dynamic growth of the Russian mobile advertising market. SIM publications are actively developing their mobile sites today, and the emergence of a system for managing advertising traffic on mobile media at the publishing house will allow us to increase revenues in this market segment. "

"SIM sites fit perfectly into our project, which was conceived as a union of premium mobile platforms using the most advanced formats," says Elena Yutkina, HPMD Development Director. - Almost immediately after the start of cooperation in the framework of sales of advertising formats HPMD Network SIM asked us to offer a solution that will allow to distribute advertising shows of third-party formats with ours. Then it was about showing Swipe-banner and AdButton at the same time. We have taken on this task, and now we can offer the market a mobile SSP that meets the most pressing needs of publishers who are actively developing the direction of mobile sales. HPMD Network now combines 25 mobile sites with a combined coverage of about 15 million unique users and a capacity of more than 50 million impressions per month. "

Government bans sale of Sanoma stake in Fashion Press to Americans

The government commission on foreign investment did not approve the deal to buy Fashion Press, Andrei Tsyganov, deputy head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), told Vedomosti. He did not explain the reasons for such a decision of the commission, confirming only that in the draft decision of the commission, which was prepared by the FAS, there was a similar verdict. The fact that the commission issued a negative opinion was also confirmed by one of its participants^[2]

Fashion Press is part of the Sanoma Independent Media (SIM) publishing house, one of the largest in Russia. Until recently, the ID operated as a single whole, but consisted of several legal entities, in each of them the Finnish Sanoma has a share.

Fashion Press is the largest company in the ID, it publishes magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Home Hearth, Popular Mechanics and Robb Report. Sanoma owns half of this company, the rest is owned by Hearst.

In 2013, Sanoma began looking for buyers for its Russian assets. In 2014, Viktor Shkulev and Hearst (together own the Hearst Shkulev Media publishing house in Russia) agreed to buy half of Fashion Press.

The transaction was officially announced in early 2015, in January Hearst Communications Inc. and HS Holding B.V. filed an application with the FAS for approval of the transaction. To buy magazines, partners needed government consent. Since December 6, 2014, a new procedure for coordinating foreign investments in print media has been in effect: any transactions that result in foreigners gaining control over magazines and newspapers with a circulation of more than 60,000 copies require the approval of a government special commission. The circulation of Cosmopolitan is 800,000 copies.

For the first time, the commission discussed the deal on Fashion Press in March 2015 and then postponed the issue until the next meeting.

"Now the relevant ministries, primarily the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, must ask a number of questions about this deal in order to even better prepare it for consideration by the commission, since we are talking about the media, about American capital and this needs to be discussed, taking into account, of course, the context that exists in politics today," - said then the head of the FAS Igor Artemyev (quote from Prime).

He added that the deal was actively discussed by members of the commission. The commission wants to carefully study how the deal corresponds to the new restrictions on foreign participation in the media, one of the federal officials explained to Vedomosti.

From January 1, 2016, amendments to the media law come into force, according to which foreign companies, foreign citizens or Russian citizens with citizenship of another country cannot own or control more than 20% of the media.

Buyers were ready for this decision of the commission. As sources close to buyers and sellers told Vedomosti in April, Hearst and Shkulev proposed Sanoma to restructure the deal so that it does not fall under legislative restrictions. So, the buyer can only be Shkulev, who is a citizen of Russia. Also, buyers insist on reducing the value of the asset by at least half compared to the previously agreed price, sources told Vedomosti.

The revenue of Fashion Press in 2013 amounted to 2.7 billion rubles, which is more than half of the consolidated revenue of the publishing house, follows from the presentation for investors of Citibank, which advised the transaction (there are no data for 2013). Hearst and Shkulev initially agreed to buy this asset for 46 million euros, Vedomosti sources said. The deal may take place on new terms, but there are no final decisions on the sale of Fashion Press yet, two sources familiar with its details told Vedomosti.

Kudryavtsev buys Sanoma's stake in Vedomosti for $6.4 million

In April 2015, it became known that the former general director of Kommersant Publishing House Demyan Kudryavtsev bought a 33% stake in Vedomosti from Finnish Sanoma. Two sources close to the participants in the transaction told Gazeta.Ru about this.

According to one of them, the deal amounted to about $6.4 million, and the necessary funds were paid by Kudryavtsev himself and private investors attracted by him. Many representatives of the Russian business community previously refused to participate in the acquisition of Vedomosti.

Later it became known that as part of the deal, Kudryavtsev gained control over a number of assets of CJSC Business News Media, including The Moscow Times, and the Men's Health, National Geographic magazines published by United Press. A Sanoma spokesman and Kudryavtsev himself declined to comment on the deal. According to another source, transactions to buy United Press magazines have already been closed and the new owner will have to re-issue licenses for their publication.

After acquiring a 33% stake in Vedomosti, Kudryavtsev will join the board of directors of Business News Media. However, the remaining two-thirds of the business publication is still owned by the British FT Group and the publisher of The Wall Street Journal - the American Dow Jones.

According to one of the sources, Kudryavtsev is already negotiating with Western media groups on the possible purchase of their part of the shares, since in 2016 they will still be forced to sell or significantly reduce their share of ownership.

It is then that amendments to the federal law "On Mass Media" come into force in Russia, prohibiting foreigners from owning 20% or more of the founder of any Russian media.

"The total cost of Vedomosti is approximately $12-15 million. Considering that Kudryavtsev has already given $6.4 million, he will at least have to pay the Western owners the same amount^[3]

.

However, if new agreements are established based on the price of the last deal, then the share of FT Group and The Wall Street Journal will rise in price to $12.8 million.

He also noted that the total value of the business publication may be significantly lower than stated, since this asset, in fact, is unprofitable.

"The Russian media industry is experiencing a serious drop in advertising revenues during the crisis, and Vedomosti was also among the victims. As a result, additional funds may be required to bring the project to a new level of quality, "the source believes

.

However, at the same time, he notes that Kudryavtsev is an excellent candidate for the reorganization of the publication, which has recently been stagnating due to the uncertainty of its fate.

After the sale of Fashion Press, Vedomosti and United Press, the Finns remained Grazia magazine, which is published jointly with the Italian Mondadori.

Closing Yes and Collezioni magazines

In February 2015, it became known that Sanoma Independent Media would close Yes and Collezioni magazines. All magazine employees are fired. The circulation of Yes was declared in the amount of 150 thousand copies.

2014

Closing The St. Petersburg Times

In December 2014, St. Petersburg's oldest English-language newspaper, The St. Petersburg Times, closed for economic reasons, said Simon Patterson, the newspaper's editor. Asked on Facebook about what happened to the paper, Simon Patterson was brief: "She drowned."

At the same time, Patterson clarified that the publication closes temporarily.

"Although

someone from the former staff spread the word that it wasn't. We do not yet know what will happen next, so we would like to refrain from commenting, "the editor explained to Baltinfo

.

Earlier in the microblogging network, a former newspaper employee, VICE News reporter Simon Ostrovsky, announced the closure of the printed version of the publication.

"The

St. Petersburg Times is closing. This was my first journalistic work. The former editor of the publication blames the restrictive Russian laws and the economic situation in the country for everything, "Simon Ostrovsky wrote on his Twitter page

.

One of the possible negative factors was the adoption of a law limiting the share of foreign companies in business. The head of the St. Petersburg Union of Journalists Lyudmila Fomicheva recalled that there are no other English-language newspapers in the city anymore.

The cost of SIM is estimated at 2.8-5.3 billion rubles.

As of September 2014, according to Vadim Goryainov, ex-co-owner of the Ukrainian United Media Holding, the entire SIM business can be estimated at a multiple of 5 to last year's EBITDA. The same assessment is given by Evgeny Zmievets, president of the publishing house Parlan (Top Gear magazine). Media analyst Vasily Gatov talks about multiplier 7, but, in his opinion, a discount of 25-27% is possible due to political risks. The founder of the Pronto-Moscow publishing house, Leonid Makaron, believes that now the animator will not exceed 3. Thus, according to experts interviewed by RBC, the entire SIM can cost in the range of 2.8-5.3 billion rubles.^[4]

Peter Gervi contender to buy SIM

American Peter Gervi is the main contender for Sanoma Independent Media, RBC sources said in the media market. Gervi is ready to buy Sanoma Independent Media along with other investors, RBC interlocutors said earlier. In September 2014, Gervi confirmed his desire to purchase SIM.

Stopping the publication of the newspapers "On Rublevka" and "News on New Riga"

At the end of December 2014, Sanoma Independent Media suspended the publication of the newspapers "Na Rublevka" and "Novosti in New Riga."

2013

Decrease in annual revenue to RUB 5.17 bn (-5%)

Sanoma does not disclose SIM revenue separately, only along with its other companies in Eastern and Central Europe. In the first half of 2013, the revenue of this division decreased by 10%.

A presentation prepared by Citibank for the sale of the company states that in 2013 the revenue of Sanoma Independent Media (SIM) decreased by almost 5%, to 5.17 billion rubles, EBITDA - by 5%, to 1.04 billion rubles, the Vedomosti newspaper reported in June 2014. The correctness of these figures was confirmed by the top manager of media company seeing the presentation. In 2013, advertising revenues of publishers decreased, according to the Association of Communication Agencies of Russia, by 10%, to 38 billion rubles. excluding VAT.

The revenue of Fashion Press in 2013 amounted to 2.7 billion rubles, which is more than half of the consolidated revenue of the publishing house, follows from the presentation for investors. Citibank

ITAR-TASS on September 8, 2014 clarified that, according to the presentation, SIM revenue will continue to decline: in 2014 - up to 5.123 billion rubles, in 2015 - up to 5.116 billion rubles, in 2016 - up to 5.115 billion rubles. EBITDA in 2014 will decrease immediately by 10%, to 942 million rubles, in 2015 it will grow to 1.03 billion rubles, in 2016 it will amount to 1.02 billion rubles.

Closing Mamas & Papas Magazine

The last print issue of Mamas & Papas magazine was published in July-August 2013. The decision to close the magazine was made by the board of directors. The reason was the fall in the audience, as a result of which it became more difficult to "continue to ensure the high efficiency of placed advertising," Tatyana Shalygina, a member of the SIM board of directors and CEO of United Press (produces Mamas & Papas), explained to RBC daily.

Tatyana Shalygina assured that the publishing house will continue to focus on this audience through its other resources.

"We will

continue to develop the digital direction and sites where new parents have an audience. We have many Internet resources and magazines that the Mamas & Papas audience uses, "she said. - A huge parent audience - at Cosmopolitan, Cosmo, Psychology and Hearth. The joint audience of these publications will be a good solution for those advertisers who need wide coverage, "the letter says

.

For those interested in children's fashion and premium baby products, SIM can offer Collezioni Bambini and Harper's Bazaar magazines.

According to Ms. Shalygina, Mamas & Papas was chosen by those advertisers who sell the corresponding goods:

"They are generally

manufacturers of toys, baby food, clothing for children and childcare products."

According to TNS Russia, from December 2012 to April 2013, an average of 101.4 thousand people read one Mamas & Papas issue. The number of advertisements in the magazine in the first quarter of 2013 amounted to 53 pieces. In the fourth quarter of 2012, advertising in the magazine was 2.5 times more - 135 units. In total, from January 2011 to March 2013, Mamas & Papas had 751 advertising outlets.

Ukrainians claim SIM assets

In May 2014, it became known that Sanoma, which announced its desire to sell its business in Russia in 2013, began negotiations with the former owners of the Ukrainian media holding UMH Group Boris Lozhkin and Vadim Goryainov. This was reported to Izvestia by Goryainov; Sanoma chose not to confirm or refute this information.

Boris Lozhkin announced his intention to acquire a part in Sanoma Independent Media back in November 2013, almost immediately after the sale of UMH to Ukrainian gas oligarch Sergei Kurchenko (since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine has been on the wanted list). Lozhkin and his partner informed Sanoma of their interest in the deal, and the Finns did not show any activity for six months.

- Sanoma representatives recently came to us, with whom we will conclude an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]. After that, we will get information about what their financial performance is and how much they want. So far we do not know this, - explains the businessman.

According to Goryainov, Sanoma intends to sell a 33 percent stake in Business News Media (publishes the Vedomosti newspaper, in which the Financial Times Group and Dow Jones also have a stake), its share in the Fashion Press magazine business, joint with the American Hearst (Russian versions of Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar magazines) and a package of magazines for the publication of which it is necessary to make royalties in favor of Western copyright holders - we are talking about United Press LLC (Men's Health, Women's Health and National Geographic).

Finam Management analyst Maxim Klyagin estimates the value of these assets at $100-125 million. Businessmen are interested in buying everything Sanoma sells. They are not interested in buying a business in parts, Goryainov said.

How Lozhkin and Goryainov will share what they bought in the event of a deal, they have not yet decided. It is too early to discuss this issue, Goryainov believes, since businessmen have no idea about the price that sellers are counting on.

Sanoma itself refrains from commenting on the future of Russian assets and only reminds that the process of revising assets in Eastern Europe and Belgium is ongoing.

- We are considering all options of what will be better for our assets in the Russian media business. Whether it will be a full sale, continuation of the business or just a reduction - we have not yet given comments, "the general director of the Finnish holding Harry-Pekka Kaukonen explained to Izvestia.

Goryainov connects the sudden initiative of Sanoma with the fact that the Hearst group, which previously claimed the shares of Finns in Russia, refused to buy due to the current difficult relations between Russia and the United States. However, the Russian-American company Hearst Shkulev Media (Hearst owns 50% of it) is still counting on the purchase of Sanoma's stake in Fashion Press, company president Viktor Shkulev told Izvestia. Until recently, Hearst, as the owner of 50% of Fashion Press, had the right to exclusive negotiations with Sanoma, but now this right has expired.

• Now

  Sanoma has the right to negotiate with any market participants, Shkulev explained.

The former co-owner of these assets, the Dutchman, Derk Sower who since September 2013 went to work in a competing holding, also announced his desire to buy Russian assets Sanoma. RBC Mikhail Prokhorov True, Sauer is primarily interested in his share in the newspaper "." Among Sheets the applicants for Vedomosti were also named the current co-owners of Business News Media: the American group Dow Jones (together with The Wall Street Journal is part of News Corp. Rupert Murdoch) and FT Group (The Financial Times, owned by British media holding Pearson Plc).

When sold in Russia, Sanoma is likely to discount, said Maxim Klyagin, an analyst at Finam Management Management. A noticeable part of the holding's projects is not distinguished by high margins, the expert explains. He also believes that a cold snap in relations between Russia and the United States does not mean at all that transactions involving American companies will be disrupted. Rather, we are talking about freezing the negotiations, which will soon intensify again. The same Hearst, on the termination of negotiations with which the press wrote, again discusses with Sanoma the terms of the deal, noted Shkulev^[5]

Announcement of plans to sell assets in Russia to the American Hearst Corporation

Sanoma is trying to get rid of Russian assets. At the beginning of 2013, negotiations were held, in particular with the media holding of Mikhail Prokhorov, but in October 2013 they were suspended, a source surrounded by a businessman told Gazeta.Ru. What is the reason for the suspension of negotiations, the interlocutor of the publication found it difficult to answer.

In October 2013, it became known that Sanoma was discussing with potential buyers the possibility of selling Russian assets. The Finnish media group may sell its stakes in the assets of Sanoma Independent Media (SIM) publishing house. SIM CEO Jean-Emmanuel de Witt declined to say whether this was true; according to him, this is a question for shareholders^[6].

Sources of Vedomosti call Hearst the main contender for the purchase of SIM. Sanoma owns one of its companies - Fashion Press - in half with the American Hearst. In Russia, Hearst owns half of a large publishing house - Hearst Shkulev Media (magazines Elle, Maxim, etc.).

According to one of Vedomosti's interlocutors, Sanoma and became interested in the Russian business. the German Bauer This company publishes in Russia such magazines as Joy, "Planet of Women," "Secrets of Stars."

After the official announcement of Sanoma about the sale of Russian media assets, offers to buy them were immediately followed by several buyers, including from RBC President Dark Sauer, who is interested in the Vedomosti newspaper. Boris Lozhkin, a Ukrainian entrepreneur and ex-owner of the UMH group media holding, became interested in the Russian business of Sanoma.

In December 2013, Sanoma agreed to sell a 100% stake in its Russian division Sanoma Independent Media (SIM), which publishes the Vedomosti newspaper, Cosmopolitan magazine and other media. The buyer was to be the American Hearst Corporation, which 50% owns the Hearst Shkulev Media publishing house. About this "Gazeta.Ru" said a source close to the top management of SIM. Another source familiar with Sanoma's plans confirmed the information. The companies plan to announce the deal in a few days, the source says.

As part of the transaction, shares in all assets of the Russian media holding SIM were to be sold, in particular shares in Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Harper's Bazaar magazines. They are published by the Fashion Press publishing house, which, in turn, owns 50% of SIM, and 50% of Hearst Corporation. The United Press division was also to be sold (published by Men's Health, Woman's Health, National Geographic, etc.). Together with the Italian company Mondadori SIM also publishes Grazia magazine.

It was supposed to take over the ownership of Hearst Corporation and the share of SIM in the newspaper Sheets"." It is published by CJSC Business News Media, which owns a 33% stake in SIM, Dow Jones and the Financial Times Group.

It was assumed that subsequently the share in the business newspaper Vedomosti could be resold to new owners. On December 5, 2013, SIM representatives flew to London to meet with the FT leadership, where the future fate of the newspaper was discussed, says a source close to SIM.

It was not clear the scheme according to which Hearst would manage Russian units. Probably, the company can transfer Russian assets to Shkulev's trust, a source in the media market said. Or he will sell him shares in a number of publications, for example, a share in Fashion Press, and allocate the rest as a separate asset, he argues. At the same time, another interlocutor of Gazeta.Ru, familiar with the situation at Hearst Shkulev Media, did not confirm the fact of the deal.

A special headache is the Vedomosti newspaper. Market participants warned that it would be difficult to sell the publication earlier.

"Co-owners of Vedomosti will choose the buyer very carefully. They will want to sell the newspaper only to publishing houses that are not affiliated with the Russian authorities in any way, otherwise Vedomosti will lose its reputation as an independent media, "one of the market participants said earlier

.

Sanoma has set itself the goal of returning the funds invested in the purchase of Independent Media, but the asset is most likely selling at a large discount, says a source familiar with Sanoma's plans. In 2005, Sanoma paid over €150 million for Independent Media.

Another participant in the media market estimates the cost of SIM according to the multiplier 6-7 to EBITDA and 1-2 to revenue. But the Finnish division traditionally does not disclose the income of the Russian division, which in the financial statements is included in the column of Central and Eastern Europe. In 2012, Sanoma estimated the revenues of all European magazines at almost 200 million euros.

The sale of SIM assets to Hearst Publishing House is one of the most anticipated options for the development of events, says a source in the media market familiar with the negotiations on the sale of SIM assets. According to him, the German publishing house Bauer refused to buy SIM.

For Hearst, the increase in share in the Russian market is in line with the global trend: it buys assets in many countries, consolidating assets. The sale of Russian magazines SIM and Hearst Shkulev Media will have a positive effect on the business of Russian magazines. The purchase was supposed to allow the corporation to become the largest "glossy" media holding in Russia.

Later it became known that the deal between Sanoma and Hearst did not take place and was frozen.

2012

Revenue for the year €80 million

In 2012, SIM revenue amounted to €80 million, only 3.3% of the total revenue of Sanoma holding. Ukraine accounted for 0.6% of revenue^[7].

Officially, Sanoma does not disclose SIM revenue separately, only together with its other companies in Eastern and Central Europe. In 2012, the revenue of this unit decreased by 6.4% to 199.5 million euros, according to Sanoma.

True, de Witt says that the company's revenues in 2012 and in the first half of 2013 decreased "slightly," solely due to the ban on alcohol advertising.

The publisher created 30 sites and made mobile applications under the brands of its "paper" products, and these applications in 2012 downloaded as many as 1,173,338 times. But Sanoma Independent Media could not boast of a high share of "digital" revenues. Managers were proud of the 14 percent share of Popular Mechanics magazine revenue brought by online projects.

Vedomosti's share of "digital" revenues - from subscriptions and advertising - has grown to 22%, while the American shareholder of the newspaper, FT Group, has reached 50%, and the number of online subscribers of the Financial Times has exceeded the number of "paper."

Myasnikova leaves the company

On September 6, 2012, it became known that Elena Myasnikova, CEO of the publishing house Sanoma Independent Media, decided to leave the company.

2011

Viadeo JV: Professional Social Network

In December 2011, it became known that Viadeo he was creating a joint project with the Finnish. Sanoma Independent Media We are talking about a Russian-language network of professional contacts. The project will bring together the professional community formed around the business portal rb.ru owned and SIM resources. Viadeo The Cyrillic shell for the network will be available in early 2012.

Revenue of 4 billion rubles or 100 million euros

Sanoma Independent Media is the largest publishing house in Russia in terms of advertising revenue, follows from the data of the Video International analytical center published in the Rospechat report. According to him, in 2011, the publishing house could earn 4.083 billion rubles from advertising. (about €99.8 million), which is 12.7% of all advertising revenues of the central press. At the same time, according to TNS for May-October 2011, according to the total audience of published magazines, Sanoma Independent Media was inferior to the publishing houses Burda and Hearst Shkulev Media - an average of 11.349 million readers over 16 years old against 19.052 million and 13.863 million, respectively^[8].

2010: Revenue cuts, profit growth

In August 2010, at a meeting with employees, CEO Elena Myasnikova said that ID revenue fell significantly, but the company managed to maintain its profit - mainly due to the closure of unprofitable projects (Gloria, Best Life, SmartMoney).

Advertising revenues of magazines are recovering, but circulation is falling, said Elena Myasnikova. According to her, since the beginning of 2010, the net profit of the ID has increased by a third.

"A reader of a modern magazine became an introvert. He cares only about his family, home and hobby, "Myasnikov shared with her colleagues her observations of the audience. Advertisers feel this trend well and shift their budgets to publications that are better focused on personal interests. Independent Media Distribution Director Anton Volkov confirmed that circulation sales in Russia are growing only for magazines no more than 30 rubles. The only consolation is that, according to Myasnikova, expensive thick magazines are now beginning to read, as 15 years ago, is "one Cosmopolitan for 5-6 people."

You can also bet on Internet readers of female gloss. With the advent of magazine applications for the iPad, they began to spend more time reading such publications - on average an hour versus 15 minutes on the desktop. Myasnikova asked her employees to remember this example and prepare thematic applications. Myasnikova connects the main hopes for electronic earnings with the block of lifestyle publications. According to her, glossy magazines on the Internet earn better than business sites vedomosti.ru and rb.ru.

2009

"Paper shrinks"

In a particularly difficult 2009, the company as a whole also managed to work with net profit, although achievements differ significantly by unit. Here are their main indicators, according to the SPARK database for 2009.

The largest profit was shown by United Press LLC (book publishing house and several magazine projects) - 502 million rubles. against 186 million rubles. in 2008 with a drop in revenue from 1.9 billion rubles. up to 1.3 billion rubles.

At Fashion Press LLC, which publishes glossy magazines (the main one is Cosmopolitan), profit fell from 782 million rubles. up to 506 million rubles, revenue - from 3.3 billion rubles. up to 2.3 billion

CJSC Business News Media, which collects business publications (the main one is Vedomosti), showed a loss of 85.3 million rubles. against a profit of 24.9 million rubles. in 2008. Revenue for the year fell by 40% - from 1.4 billion rubles. up to 830 million

When asked by the editor-in-chief of Vedomosti Tatyana Lysova whether the advertising revenues of her newspaper are comparable to those of advertising in Kommersant, Myasnikova replied that if we remove the $10 million that Kommersant receives annually from the placement of bankruptcy announcements (previously Kommersant won the corresponding state tender), then comparable. But in general, "paper is gradually shrinking," Myasnikova admitted.

Mamas & Papas Magazine Launch

Mamas & Papas magazine began to be published in Russia in 2009. Its main audience was supposed to be modern parents with children under seven years old. The topics of the releases are materials about health, upbringing, quality of toys and others. The publication also publishes information for the leisure of children and parents.

2008: Myasnikova succeeds Sower as CEO

In 2008, Myasnikova replaced Derk Sower as CEO and chairman of the board of directors. At the same time, Mr. Sauer himself headed a specially created supervisory board of the publishing house, having begun to simultaneously engage in personal media projects abroad^[8].

2005

Sauer sells Finnish Sanoma to Independent Media for $142m

In January 2005, the Finnish company Sanoma bought 100% of the Russian publishing house Independent Media. For a company whose revenue in 2004 was about €70 million and operating profit - €10 million, the Finnish media group paid €142 million^[8].

Collezioni Magazine Launch

The Russian-language version of the Collezioni fashion magazine has been published since 2005.

2001: Elena Myasnikova joins board of directors

In 2001, Elena Myasnikova joined the board of directors of the publishing house.

1998: Yes Magazine Launch

Glossy monthly magazine for girls Yes come out in Russia since 1998.

1994: First issue of Cosmopilitan in Russia

In 1994, the first issue of the Russian-language version of Cosmopilitan, the first glossy magazine in modern Russia, was released. The first co-editors of Cosmopilitan were Elena Myasnikova and Ellen Ferbeek, the wife of Mr. Sauer. The launch of the magazine turned out to be super successful, the starting investment paid off after the third issue, Ms. Myasnikova later recalled in an interview Slon.ru Sanoma^[8].

1993: Lloyd Donaldson begins The St. Petersburg Times

The St. Petersburg Times is a weekly Russian English-language newspaper published in St. Petersburg since May 1993. The newspaper is part of the publishing block of Sanoma Independent Media, published jointly with Vedomosti.

The newspaper was founded by New Zealand journalist Lloyd Donaldson. The newspaper was distributed free of charge in the places of probable stay of English-speaking people and was designed, first of all, for foreigners who temporarily or permanently live in St. Petersburg.

1992: Derk Sower establishes The Moscow Times

In March 1992, the company was founded by a group of Dutch investors led by Derk Sauer. His first project was the English-language newspaper The Moscow Times.

Notes