Hjemmet Mortensen acquires Hachette Filipacchi Norway

Hjemmet Mortensen AS has just signed an agreement with Hachette Filipacchi Medias regarding the acquisition of 100 % of the share capital of its Norwegian subsidiary Hachette Filipacchi Norge AS, which publishes Elle and Elle Interiør under license.

Elle , the world’s leading upscale women’s magazine, has 39 editions worldwide. The Norwegian edition, which is celebrating its 10 year-anniversary, has seen both its circulation and readership grow in 2006 amid a lacklustre market where sales of most other women’s magazines are flagging, despite the launch of several new titles over the past few years. Average paid circulation in 2006 amounted to 33,356 copies with a total of 189,000 readers.

Elle Interiør has the greatest number of urban readers in the home decoration segment. Elle Interiør ’s paid circulation (21,889 copies) and readership (137,000) increased last year.

« We have been in discussion with Hachette for quite a long time and we are happy to have reached an agreement, said Rolf Hanche-Olsen, Director of Hjemmet Mortensen AS. – Thanks to the Elle acquisition, we are now poised to play a key role in the women’s magazine segment, where we already publish Kamille and Det Nye as well as parenting and special-interest magazines and websites, which, for the most part, cater to female readers. This is also true of the home decoration segment, where we already are market leader with Bonytt and our latest launch Rom 1-2-3 ».

« We are excited to have been acquired by Hjemmet Mortensen as we will now benefit from the resources of both Hachette and Hjemmet Mortensen. We are getting the best of both worlds under the stewardship of the world’s largest magazine publisher and of the largest Norwegian publisher. We are looking forward to being distributed in new outlets through the Bladcentralen distribution network, said Signy Fardal, editor-in-chief and general manager of Hachette Filipacchi Norge SA ».

Hachette Filipacchi Norge AS had revenues of 53,8 MNOK in 2006.

The company employs 26 people. In the wake of this change in the shareholding structure, the company is to change its name, but nothing has been decided yet.

This transaction is the first step of the plan announced by Didier Quillot, CEO of Lagardère Active, on January 25, 2007, which aims at rationalizing the division’s portfolio of titles and geographic presence. Other countries are due to shift from operating to licensing mode in 2007.