Mecom shares rise after Norwegian sell-off

Shares in Mecom climbed almost 13% after the pan-European newspaper publisher sold its Norwegian business for a better-than-expected £191m. Mecom's share price spiked after the publisher confirmed on Monday morning that it had sold Edda Media, which owns 36 newspapers in Norway, to local rival A-pressen for NKr1.725bn (£191m). The talks with A-pressen, which owns 49 titles, emerged last month with market speculation of a price tag of about £175m . News of the deal saw Mecom's share price rise by 12.84%, 23.75p, to 208.75p by 11.30am on Monday. Since news of the talks emerged Mecom's share price has soared by 62.5p, or 43%, from 146.25p to 208.75. The sale is conditional upon shareholder approval and clearance by the Norwegian competition authority. Mecom said that it will operate its social buying business Sweetdeal together with A-pressen and have agreed to "explore opportunities for co-investing in and exploiting digital product development". "The sale of Edda Media is at an attractive valuation," said the Mecom chief executive, Tom Toumazis. "It will allow Edda Media to benefit from consolidation in the Norwegian media market and crystallise substantial value for Mecom shareholders." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook