AS Ekspress Grupp to acquire conference business in Lithuania

On December 18, 2024, UAB Delfi, 100% subsidiary of AS Ekspress Grupp, entered into the contract for the acquisition of 100% of shares in the company UAB Kenton Baltic from Dainius Baltrusaitis and Arturas Laucius.

UAB Kenton Baltic carries out activities related to organization of conferences in Lithuania and Latvia. It‘s flagship, the business conference named EBIT brings together industry leaders and experts to share insights, discuss trends, gathering more than 2000 yearly attendees per both countries. Another popular conference named HR Week is dedicated to human resources management and leadership with 2300 yearly visitors. It serves as a platform for HR professionals to exchange ideas, learn about the latest practices, and foster collaboration to address workforce-related issues in a dynamic business environment. Both conferences are very well known in Lithuania and Latvia for impressive speakers and all the media content they create. 

The acquisition of UAB Kenton Baltic is an organic step in Ekspress Grupp’s strategy with the main goal of growing the conference business line. The investment aims to establish UAB Delfi as a very important provider of industry-specific conferences, boosting Delfi brand, fostering business relationships, and creating new revenue streams. This initiative will increase UAB Delfi conference-related revenue and strengthen industry presence, supporting strategic goal of expanding market visibility and creating new business opportunities. 

The parties have agreed neither to disclose the price nor any other terms of the transaction. The transaction is partly financed with a bank loan from AS SEB Pank. The transaction is not considered as a significant transaction according to the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Tallinn Stock Exchange “Requirements for Issuers”. AS Ekspress Grupp confirms that the members of the Group’s Management and Supervisory Boards are not personally interested in the transaction. The transaction does not require prior approval of the Lithuanian and Latvian competition authority because the aggregate turnover of the undertakings concerned is below the merger notification threshold provided in the Lithuanian and Latvian Law on Competition.

Mari-Liis Rüütsalu

Chairman of the Management Board

AS Ekspress Grupp is the leading Baltic media group whose key activities include web media content production as well as publishing of newspapers, magazines and books. The Group also operates an electronic ticket sales platform and ticket offices and provides an outdoor screen service in Estonia and Latvia. Ekspress Grupp launched its operations in 1989 and it employs almost 1100 people.