M. DuMont Schauberg

March 27, 2009

      Compass Advisers, LLP ("Compass") is pleased to announce the acquisition of Mecom plc's German operations by M. DuMont Schauberg GmbH & Co. KG ("DuMont"), one of Germany's leading newspaper publishers.  Beginning as an early 17th century printing works, the company has created and distributed newspapers since at least 1643.  Owned by the DuMont Family since 1805, DuMont publishes, among others, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Kölnische Rundschau and a tabloid called EXPRESS.

      Compass assisted DuMont in identifying the opportunity, obtaining exclusivity, discreetly performing due diligence, raising bank financing and negotiating the €153 million purchase price for Berliner Zeitung, Berliner Kurier and Hamburger Morgenpost, along with 10 websites.

      The acquisition makes DuMont the third largest newspaper publishing house in Germany and favorably positions the company in a time of intensifying consolidation in the German market.  Furthermore, with Berliner Zeitung, DuMont now owns one of the most widely circulated and prestigious newspapers in the capital.