Acquisition of Quote Media’s activities

With the acquisition of Quote Media’s activities, HFM has become the 4th largest magazine publisher in the Netherlands

Hachette Filipacchi Medias (HFM) is pleased to announce the acquisition of the assets of Dutch publisher Quote Media, including its 49% stake in Hachette VDB Magazines. Renamed Hachette Filipacchi Media Netherlands, the combined Hachette-Quote business is now 100% owned by HFM.

Maarten van den Biggelaar, who has been managing Hachette VDB since the launch of the Dutch edition of ELLE magazine in 1989, will remain CEO of HFM Netherlands.

In addition to ELLE, the uncontested leader in the market for upscale monthly women’s magazines with a circulation of 86,000 and a 22% share of the advertising market, Hachette VDB publishes five other magazines: ELLE Eten (circulation: 60,000), ELLE Wonen (circulation: 60,000), Elle Girl (circulation: 80,000), Red (circulation: 60,000) and Santé (circulation: 70,000). To this, the Quote Media group brings strong brands with excellent spin-off potential that complement the existing Hachette portfolio : the monthly business and lifestyle magazine Quote (circulation: 50.000), launched in 1986 and with a 16% share of the relevant advertising market; its annual supplement, Quote 500, a directory of the wealthiest persons in the Netherlands (circulation: 126,000); the tax and financial newsletter Fiscalert (70,000 subscribers); and custom publishing and marketing services, which continue to grow. HFM’s renowned know-how in international publishing should permit the extension of the Quote brand internationally.

With a share of the Dutch advertising market in excess of 18%, Hachette Filipacchi Media Netherlands is now the 4th largest publisher of consumer magazines in the Netherlands, an important and influential market for magazines and one with an especially high penetration rate (92% of adults above the age of 18 have access to at least one weekly magazine and 79% have access to a monthly magazine).

The magazines’ internet websites are enjoying rapid growth. Three sites are already operational – Quotenet, ElleGirl, and Santé, together representing more than one and a half million pages viewed and approximately 200,000 unique visitors per month.

Hachette Filipacchi Medias, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lagardère, is the world’s largest magazine publisher, present in 41 countries and publishing 260 magazines. Its turnover in 2005 was 1.9 billion Euros of which 54.6% is generated by its international activities.