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Board
Corporate
Th e Corporate division, which includes the Bertelsmann Group
Corporate Center and Corporate Investments, reported operating
EBIT of €-84 million for 2009 (previous year: €-111 million).
Th e number of employees in the Corporate division was
1,050 at year-end (December 31, 2008: 1,144).
Numerous cost-cutting measures as well as a bonus and/or
salary waiver from board members, managers and pay scale
employees in the year under review made it possible to reduce
costs signifi cantly at the Corporate Center. Th e measures were
part of a cost control and effi ciency program, the purpose of
which was to examine and optimize the management, staff and
administrative functions at all levels within the Group. Th is
project resulted in restructuring costs for the Corporate division;
these costs are disclosed separately and are not included
in operating EBIT.
Th e cost savings realized in 2009 more than compensated for
further start-up losses for the establishment of the “Scoyo.de”
online learning platform and the BMG Rights Management
music rights business. “Scoyo.de” will be integrated into the
online portfolio of the Super RTL children’s channel; this
process was started in December 2009. At the same time, the
assets of the learning platform were written down in the period
under review. As of October 1, 2009 BMG Rights Management
was brought into a joint venture between Bertelsmann AG and
the fi nancial investor Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR),
in order to accelerate the establishment of the business
and, in particular, the internationalization of the company.
BMG Rights Management expanded in six European countries
and set up offi ces in the U.S. Th e company acquired several
music catalogs in 2009, including Crosstown in the U.S. In
Europe and the U.S., new contracts were signed with a number
of well-known artists.
Th e Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments (BDMI) and
Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) funds, which are part
of Corporate Investments, had a total of 23 holdings. During
the course of the fi scal year, BAI acquired three new holdings;
further investments made were predominantly follow-up investments.
Bertelsmann Annual Report 2009
69