Alma Media acquired 35 per cent stake in leading online travel service Rantapallo Oy

Helsinki, Finland, 19-2-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Alma Media has acquired 35 per cent of the share capital of leading online travel service Rantapallo Oy. The shares were acquired from TukTuk Media Oy and Verkossa Media Oy. Alma Media also has the opportunity to increase its ownership in the company. The parties have agreed to not make the transaction price public.

Rantapallo.fi is a comprehensive online travel service established in 2007 to provide information, inspiration and services to online readers interested in travel and tourism. Rantapallo has an average of approximately 208,000 unique visitors per week.

The shareholding in Rantapallo supports Alma Media’s strategy of pursuing growth particularly by expanding the Group’s digital service offering. Travel is the largest product category in Finnish online retail, and it is still seeing continuous growth. Travel companies have also substantially increased their focus on online media.

“Travel is one of the fastest industries to make the shift to digital. Many Finns search for travel-related information online and also buy their trips online. The partnership between Alma Media and Rantapallo Oy provides an opportunity to accelerate the growth of the business and increase the number of visitors,” says Minna Nissinen, Senior Vice President of Alma Diverso.

Rantapallo will be reported as an associated company of Alma Media under the Digital Consumer Services segment as of the first quarter of 2014. The partnership with Rantapallo is managed by Alma Media’s digital service and development unit Alma Diverso.

Alma Media will close its online travel service NytMatkaan.fi and its users will be redirected to Rantapallo.fi in the future. The online service Rantapallo.fi is located at www.rantapallo.fi.

More information:

Minna Nissinen, Senior Vice President, Alma Diverso, tel. +358 40 766 6726

Alma Media in brief
Alma Media is a media company focusing on digital services and publishing. In addition to news services, the company’s products provide useful information related to lifestyle, career and business development. The services of Alma Media have expanded from Finland to the Nordic countries, the Baltic States and Central Europe. The company employs approximately 1,965 professionals (excluding distributors), of whom approximately one third are based outside Finland. Alma Media’s revenue in 2013 totalled approximately MEUR 300. Alma Media’s share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Read more at www.almamedia.com.

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