Kall's tactical trump card
Publishers The prohibition of BZ's participation in 20 Minuten opens up new strategic scope for Tamedia.
Publishers The prohibition of BZ's participation in 20 Minuten opens up new strategic leeway for Tamedia With its prohibition of Berner Zeitung's (BZ) participation in Tamedia's Express Zeitung AG, which holds 49.5 percent of 20 Minuten (Switzerland), the Competition Commission has reshuffled the cards in the Swiss-German press poker game. Tamedia spokeswoman Franziska Hügli says that the company will now remain the "happy, sole minority shareholder" in the commuter paper until the end of 2005. However, the takeover agreement does not provide for an alternative scenario for the loss of BZ. Which is why the 17.5 percent package that has become available could serve CEO Martin Kall as maneuvering mass in the battle for market share.NZZ or Publigroupe?
The NZZ Group, which was already on board with the ZürichExpress and is in charge of both the St. Galler Tagblatt and the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, could be considered. It is precisely in their territories that 20 Minuten is to expand.
Nevertheless, regional head Beat Lauber considers an investment "hardly compatible for the time being" with the NZZ's own interests as well as its journalistic aspirations. "We also operate our own free newspaper in St. Gallen," Lauber tells Werbewoche.
Another attractive partner, which would of course strengthen the Tages-Anzeiger rather than 20 Minuten, would be Publigroupe. Its integration could open a few publishing doors for the Tagi in the Zurich area. For Publigroupe, this would also be the ticket to the up-and-coming commuter newspaper market. But the chief strategist at Publicitas, Georg von Csernatony, waves it off: "Holdings of less than 20 percent cannot be consolidated and are therefore not an issue for us."
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The NZZ Group, which was already on board with the ZürichExpress and is in charge of both the St. Galler Tagblatt and the Neue Luzerner Zeitung, could be considered. It is precisely in their territories that 20 Minuten is to expand.
Nevertheless, regional head Beat Lauber considers an investment "hardly compatible for the time being" with the NZZ's own interests as well as its journalistic aspirations. "We also operate our own free newspaper in St. Gallen," Lauber tells Werbewoche.
Another attractive partner, which would of course strengthen the Tages-Anzeiger rather than 20 Minuten, would be Publigroupe. Its integration could open a few publishing doors for the Tagi in the Zurich area. For Publigroupe, this would also be the ticket to the up-and-coming commuter newspaper market. But the chief strategist at Publicitas, Georg von Csernatony, waves it off: "Holdings of less than 20 percent cannot be consolidated and are therefore not an issue for us."
(oc)
