Schibsted is selling its shares in Basefarm, the internet operations company, to private equity fund Reiten & Co Capital Partners VII L.P, which is acquiring 72% of the company’s shares.
Basefarm specialises in operating internet services with high levels of traffic and complexity, such as portals, web newspapers, streaming services, search services and online shopping solutions. It has offices in Norway and Sweden and 190 employees.
Reiten&Co is paying about NOK130m for Schibsted’s 69.4% holding in Basefarm. In addition to Reiten&Co’s holding, the other shares will be owned by Basefarm’s management (23.1%), its employees (4.8%) and Basefarm AS (0.1%).
Commenting on the deal, Grethe Viksaas, CEO of Basefarm, was reported as saying: “This is a milestone in the company’s almost ten-year history as a specialist in the operation of internet applications. We are getting a solid new owner which will bring us financial and strategic expertise, as well as an even better opportunity to realise our ambitions”.
FinSMEs
01/12/2009