Sanoma announced Monday that it had signed an agreement with the Norwegian chain to sell its newsstand chains in Finland, Lithuania and Estonia as well as its press distribution operations in Estonia and Lithuania in a deal valued at 130.7 million euros.
Its Rautakirja brand will also be transferred to Reitan Servicehandel as part of the transaction, which still requires the approval of EU competition authorities.
Turnover of the operations to be sold off was valued at around 375 million euros in 2011, and some 2,600 employees will be transferred to the Norwegian owner.
Reitan Servicehandel is a subsidiary of the Reitan Group, a Norwegian wholesaler and retail franchiser with operations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Latvia, where it is the market leader.
Its Pressbyrå and Narvese chains in Sweden and Norway offer the same newsstand services as the R-Kioski chain, in addition to take-away meals and electronic services.
“Based on our experience, we can accelerate the development of more comprehensive offering. All the same, we can’t be sure that the demand for these products in Finland, Estonia and Lithaunia is the same as in Scandinavia and Latvia,” observed Magnus Reitan, CEO of the Reitan Group.