NZZ Group and AZ Medien to plan joint venture
According to Klein Report, a merger of the regional media of the NZZ Group and AZ Medien is imminent. AZ Medien is keeping a low profile on the subject.
As the portal Kleinreport.ch writesthe two media houses are planning "one of the biggest mergers in the Swiss media sector. Accordingly, parts of the media portfolio of the NZZ Group - NZZ and NZZ am Sonntag excluded - are to be combined with the "vast majority" of AZ Medien products in a joint venture under AZ CEO Axel Wüstmann. Peter Wanner will "presumably" be the chairman of the board of directors, according to the portal.
Already in September on Tagesanzeiger.ch speculated about a possible merger between the two media companies. The source referred to was "informed circles.
At the time, AZ Medien would neither confirm nor deny the negotiations - they were in talks with all major publishing houses, not just the NZZ Media Group.
Nothing has changed in this regard. AZ Medien "generally does not comment on speculation," it said in response to an inquiry from Werbewoche. "Of course, we regularly examine our opportunities on the market and this includes, among other things, talks with various media houses in Switzerland." This is done on an ongoing basis as part of the company's strategy. Should cooperations with media houses arise, the company will inform them as soon as possible. (hae)
