GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 6, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Bure-owned Business Communication Group intends to strengthen the Group through the acquisition of Sandberg Trygg, one of Sweden's largest and most reputable advertising agencies in the business to business communication sector. Once the acquisition has been completed, Bure intends to incorporate Sandberg Trygg into the Business Communication Group.
Bure intends to acquire 100 per cent of Sandberg Trygg from Teleca. The Agency has 80 employees and offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmo. Sales were SEK 116M in 2001. Sven Sandberg, the company's founder and president, sees many advantages in the change of ownership.
"For us, the deal means that we will be joining an environment of communicators in which we will be supported in building relationships with important customers. We see significant opportunities to collaborate with our new fellow subsidiaries and it is an exciting challenge to be involved in the building of the largest communication group in the Nordic countries," said Sven Sandberg.
"Business Communication Group (BCG) is well on its way to becoming a leading operator in the Nordic market for business communication," said Erik Strand, President and CEO of BCG. "Sandberg Trygg, which won The Business to Business Agency of the Year award again this year, is a strategic acquisition for BCG. The agency will strengthen our customer offer both through its in-depth competence within strategic marketing communication and advertising, and through its size," continued Erik Strand.
Bure intends to offer an owner incentive to the company management and other key employees in Sandberg Trygg.
Through its acquisition of Sandberg Trygg, BCG is gaining more than 380 staff and offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Lund, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The acquisition of Sandberg Trygg is subject to an examination by the Swedish Competition Authority.
Gothenburg, 6 May 2002 Bure Equity AB (publ) Business Communication Group
For further information, please contact:
Erik Strand, President and CEO of Business Communication GroupAB
Mobile: +46 733-929800
E-mail: erik.strand@businesscommunicationgroup.com
Sven Sandberg, President of Sandberg Trygg AB
Mobile: +46 705-752805
E-mail: sven.sandberg@sandbergtrygg.se
Mats Axell, Senior Investment Manager, Bure Equity AB
Mobile: +46 708-185560
E-mail: mats.axell@bure.se
Irene Axelsson, Head of Corporate Communications, Bure Equity AB
Mobile: +46 706-328183
E-mail: irene.axelsson@bure.se
Facts about Business Communication Group:
Business Communication Group's principal owner is the listed company, Bure Equity. BCG is a communications group which focuses on business to business related communications. The Group consists of Sweden's leading operators within the business communications sector such as Sandberg Trygg, Journalistgruppen, Stark Filmproduktion and Appelberg Publishing Agency as well as Convenio Communication. Via its subsidiaries, BCG works with large communication-intensive companies in the Nordic countries, including Telia, Ericsson, Volvo, SKF, SEB, ABB, IBM, Astra, Vin & Sprit, etc. BCG has 380 staff and offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Lund, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Facts about Bure Equity AB (publ)
Bure is a leading private equity company in Sweden. Its business objective is to become a proactive owner in knowledge-intensive service companies which have the potential to become market leaders within their sectors. By investing capital, knowledge and experience, and providing access to the Bure Group's entire network, we develop companies and restructure whole sectors.
Bure helps the companies to grow strong and remains a proactive owner until they have achieved leading positions. Over past years, we have floated the healthcare company Capio and the IT integrator Dimension to the Stockholm Exchange. Bure has its base in Sweden but our perspective is international as is that of our portfolio companies.
Bure was established in 1992 and is quoted on the A list of the Stockholm Exchange.
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