011_DBAG GB 2000 Innen E - Deutsche Beteiligungs AG

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Case study:
The Sebaldus Group
The Seb Seba
WAZ Media Group – a strong partner for Gong Verlag
Prior to the sale of the Sebaldus group to Schlott AG, Sebaldus’ publishing
activities, combined in Gong Verlag GmbH, had been split off. 75 percent
of the shares in Gong Verlag were held by the former shareholders
of the Sebaldus group, the remaining 25 percent by schlott sebaldus AG.
In November 2000, we sold the interests in Gong Verlag held by the former
shareholders to the WAZ Media Group, Essen. schlott sebaldus AG
continues to hold the remaining 25 percent.
With the WAZ Media Group, Gong Verlag has gained a strong partner to
further develop its core business of “general-interest magazines” and
“publishing services.” WAZ Media Group plans to enhance its magazine
activities by this purchase. The Group publishes 275 general and special
interest magazines as well as customer periodicals in Germany. The company
is also present in eastern Europe, where it issues 28 magazines. In
addition to its stake in RTL-TV, WAZ Media Group holds interests in
numerous radio and television broadcasters.
In conjunction with the sale of the Gong group, we acquired a 49 percent
interest in Metro-Zeitschriftenverlags GmbH of Austria, a subsidiary
of Gong Verlag GmbH. The move is targeted at bundling Metro's successful
publishing business (“Die Wienerin,” “Skip” etc.) with other
Austrian publishing activities.
Looking back on a successful investment
We look back upon three eventful years, which have not only paid off in
attractive earnings. New, interesting and, above all, well positioned business
entities were created with strong potential for the future. As the
largest shareholder of schlott sebaldus AG, we are poised to continue to
be supportive of the company's progress and to profit from its good
perspectives.