Mecom & VSS/Berliner Verlag

Change of Ownership at Berliner Verlag*

BERLIN December 1, 2005 – The acquisition of Berliner Verlag by BV Deutsche Zeitungsholding, a company owned by Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) and Mecom Group plc (Mecom), from Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, announced on October 25th, has completed today.  This follows the permission of the German Cartel granted on 25th November.

      David Montgomery, Chairman of Mecom, said: "Now we have closed the deal, we are looking forward to working together with the management team and the employees of Berliner Verlag to set the course for an even more successful future for the company."

      Peter Skulimma, spokesman of Berliner Verlag's management, said:  "The new clarity of ownership gives us the opportunity to expand on the successful work of the past few years.  We are very well placed to improve our competitive positioning in the Berlin market place."

* Compass Advisers acted as financial advisor to Mecom and VSS.