The campaign broke out in earnest earlier this week, when Oslo-based Schibsted (which owns Aftenposten among other media outlets) launched a bid for Alma Media of Finland valued at USD 944 million. Alma Media already owns 23.4 percent of TV4 in Sweden and ranks as Finland's second-largest media concern.
Schibsted's bid came just a week after it bought another 15 percent stake in TV4 itself. Swedish media group Bonnier, however, has controlled TV4 and also holds a 33 percent stake in Alma Media.
Bonnier has been fairly quiet about Schibsted's growing interest in Alma Media and TV4. On Thursday, the family-owned firm fought back, saying it had bought another 5.95 percent of TV4 and raised its stake to 27.7 percent of the votes.
Alma Media, meanwhile, said Wednesday it would investigate restructuring opportunities in the Nordic television business, hinting it may have an alternative to Schibsted's bid.
Digging in
Schibsted, its growth limited at home in Norway, has vowed that it's prepared for a lengthy takeover battle. The company recently reported strong earnings and its dominating owner, Tinius Nagell-Erichsen, has said Schibsted must expand outside Norway if it's to maintain growth.
"I've always had friends in Bonnier," he told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv this week, adding that Schibsted wasn't launching its bid to provoke Bonnier.
Some analysts are already saying that Schibsted, which will issue a prospectus for Alma's shares after New Year, must raise its price if it expects to succeed. There's no doubt Schibsted is keen on prevailing in its bid: Winning control of Alma would give the Norwegian company control over the Nordic region's most important commercial TV stations, its largest newspapers and major web sites.
Clash of local titans
In addition to major Norwegian dailiesAftenposten and VG along with their web sites, Schibsted already owns Swedish papers Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet, along with publishing interests, a major stake in Norway's TV2 and a vast array of other media outlets.
Alma Media owns Finland's leading commercial TV station MTV3, business daily Kauppalehti, daily papers Iltalehti and Aamulehti plus major stakes in leading web sites, in addition to TV4.
Bonnier has been a major player in Sweden for years, but some question whether it has the financial muscle or access to capital markets needed to fend off Schibsted's advances. Bonnier, which owns major Swedish dailies Dagens Nyheter and Expressen in addition to business daily Dagens Industri and other media interests, posted losses in 2001 and 2002. Some "Harry Potter" licensing deals aided its bottom line in 2003, but company officials have signalled less-than-stellar results for this year.