Estonian Competition Authority denies AS Express Post share sale to AS Eesti Post

The Estonian Competition Authority has rejected the transaction in which AS Eesti Post operating under the trademark of Omniva would have acquired 100% ownership interest in AS Express Post.

AS Ekspress Grupp and AS Postimees Grupp entered into a share sale and purchase agreement with AS Eesti Post on 2 March 2022. The latter would have acquired a 100% ownership interest in AS Express Post. The transaction was subject to Estonian Competition Authority’s approval. Due to Authority’s negative decision on merge clearance, the share sale and purchase agreement will not enter into force and shareholder structure of AS Express Post will remain unchanged.

AS Express Post is a joint venture established in 1997 that is engaged in the home delivery of periodicals as well as advertising and business letters in the largest cities in Estonia and in their vicinity. Additionally, Express Post offers a call centre service and a management service for the subscriber bases of periodicals. The company employs almost 490 people, 450 of whom are engaged in daily newspaper deliveries. The ownership interest of Ekspress Grupp in Express Post is 50%.

 

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, publishing of newspapers, magazines and books. The Group also operates an electronic ticket sales platform and ticket offices in Estonia and Latvia. Ekspress Grupp that launched its operations in 1989 employs almost 1400 people, owns leading web media portals in the Baltic States and publishes the most popular daily and weekly newspapers as well as the majority of the most popular magazines in Estonia.