2016-11-24

Bastei Lübbe AG sells majority of Räder business segment

DGAP-News: Bastei Lübbe AG / Key word(s): Disposal

2016-11-24 / 18:15
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


Bastei Lübbe AG sells majority of Räder business segment

- Bastei Lübbe allocates EUR 14.1 million for the disposal of the Räder business segment as part of an asset deal

- Bastei Lübbe AG keeps stake in new Räder GmbH together with partner MBH Mamisch Holding

- Multi-stage Räder deal is "highly logical from an industrial point of view" in order to develop the company

Cologne, November 24, 2016. Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, is selling the majority of its Räder business segment. There are specific plans to invest 100% of the shares in Räder in a new limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung - GmbH) at year-end as part of an asset deal. In future, Bastei Lübbe AG will retain a 20% stake in the new company. The new company, Räder GmbH, will be established together with MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding GmbH (Grünwald). MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding GmbH is to hold an 80% stake. "We have received an attractive offer and found an ideal partner for Räder's future at the same time. This means that we will also be able to invest in the company's positive development in the future. This made our decision to sell easy," explained Thomas Schierack, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG.

Specifically, a sale and investment process in multiple stages is planned. First of all, Räder GmbH, which will be based in Bochum, will be established together with MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding GmbH. Bastei Lübbe AG will hold a 20% stake in the new company, while MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding will hold an 80% stake. The new company, Räder GmbH, will buy all trademark rights and 100% of the assets in the Räder business segment from Bastei Lübbe AG. The purchase price for this is EUR 14.1 million. Bastei Lübbe AG has the corresponding proof of capital. MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding GmbH, based in Grünwald, is privately held entirely by Mr Tarek Mamisch.

The Supervisory Board of Bastei Lübbe AG has already approved these plans. The agreement is subject to two suspensive conditions before becoming effective.

Räder, which will be based in Bochum in addition to another location in Dortmund, stands out thanks to its extraordinary range of products, including table decorations, gift ideas, writing material, greeting cards and fashion and home accessories. It has already received multiple awards, including the FORM Design Award and the Red Dot Design Award. In the Bastei Lübbe Group, Räder (Non-Book segment) contributed EUR 17.0 million to revenue in the past financial year.

For Klaus Kluge, member of the Bastei-Lübbe Management Board, the planned disposal of the majority of this segment is highly logical from an industrial point of view: "We acquired Räder in 2011. However, the bookselling world was still different at the time. Today, we are struggling with a decline in areas in retail. Räder may still be developing very positively and dynamically, but a significant amount of growth is coming from new sales channels beyond traditional bookselling retail. As a result, Räder is increasingly moving away from our core business. We have now found a partner with whom we will also be able to develop the company worldwide. This is a nearly perfect solution."

About Bastei Lübbe AG:
Bastei Lübbe AG is an international media group based in Cologne. Its business operations focus on developing and licensing content distributed worldwide physically and digitally. The company's core business includes the traditional publishing business and the periodical puzzle magazines and novel booklets in the "Book" segment. With its twelve publishers and imprints, the group of companies currently offers approximately 3,600 titles in fiction, non-fiction and books for children and young adults. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction, the company has been the market leader in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is driving innovation in the field of digital media. As well as the production of thousands of audio and e-books, the "Digital" segment also includes holdings in the self-publishing platform "BookRix" and the renowned games publisher "Daedalic Entertainment". Bastei Lübbe AG's value chain is completed by the investment in the online shop "beam-ebooks.de" and the new and internationally unique streaming platform "oolipo".
With currently 413 employees and an annual turnover of roughly EUR 104.9 million (financial year 2015/2016), Bastei Lübbe AG is the largest medium-sized family company in the German publishing industry. Since 2013, the company's shares have been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0). Further information is available at www.luebbe.de.

Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Director / Vice President
Public Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-mail: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de



2016-11-24 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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