Schibsted Makes Bid For Aspiro At SEK1.65 A Share

Schibsted ASA (SCH.OS), the Norwegian media group, has made an offer to acquire all shares in Norwegian television and music streaming company Aspiro AB (ASP.SK), it said Thursday.

Schibsted, which already is Aspiro's largest shareholder with 18.3% of the share capital, has offered 1.65 Swedish kronor a share for the remaining stake in the company in a bid that values Aspiro at SEK340 million.

According to Schibsted, Aspiro's board of directors has decided to recommend its shareholders to accept the offer. Schibsted added that shareholders representing 32.4% of the shares in Aspiro have expressed support for the bid.

Aspiro, which is based in Norway but listed on the OMX Stockholm stock exchange, makes products for streaming video content online. The company is also behind the Norwegian WiMP music streaming client, a brand it is developing with Platekompaniet AS and Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor ASA (TEL.OS).

"[Aspiro] has succeeded in getting users to pay for digital content, which fits well into Schibsted's current work on how to monetize its digital media content," Schibsted's chief financial officer Trond Berger said.

The company reported sales of SEK185 million in 2010, while it made a SEK114 operating loss.

On Wednesday, shares in Aspiro closed at SEK1.24, while shares in Schibsted closed at NOK155.80.

-By Sven Grundberg, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3098; sven.grundberg@dowjones.com

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