Keystone to be acquired by Swiss and Austrian media companies
Austria Presse Agentur (APA) of Vienna and Schweizerische Depeschenagentur (SDA) of Berne have announced plans to acquire Keystone AG as of January 1, 2008 with APA taking a 60% interest and SDA, 40%. The Zurich-based Keystone, Switzerland’s largest stock photo company employs about 90 people and generates annual revenue of approximately Euro.10MM (US$15MM.) The parties have not disclosed the terms of the deal which is still subject to approval by antitrust regulators.
APA is the national news agency and the leading information service provider in Austria and is owned by a consortium of 16 Austrian daily newspapers and the country’s national public broadcasting company. Their move to purchase part of Keystone stems from their growth and internationalization strategy. “Keystone is a key company in the Swiss media industry. With the acquisition of the majority share of one of the largest picture agencies in Europe we are taking a decisive step for positioning APA as regional information service provider in the centre of Europe”, said Wolfgang Vyslozil, APA’s Chief Executive Officer.
SDA is the national and largest news agency in Switzerland, but has never owned or operated a picture business. Their interest in Keystone completes their portfolio as a full-service news provider.
Walter Grolimund, Keystone’s CEO and co-owner with Theodor Hummel, will remain with the company as President of its Board of Directors.
Web-sites: Keystone.ch, APA.at, and SDA.ch
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