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700 city jobs at Emap are safe
THE buyer of most of Peterborough media giant Emap today moved to reassure its 700 city workers that their jobs are safe.
THE buyer of most of Peterborough media giant Emap today moved to reassure its 700 city workers that their jobs are safe.German-owned publishing powerhouse H Bauer has spent 1.14 billion to snap up Emap's consumer magazines and radio sections and says the only change will be the name.
Shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting in London on Friday voted to approve the sale to Bauer.
It means the end of the Emap's presence in Peterborough where the company was founded 61 years ago.
Read more:
Feature: Emap: Story of the city publishing giant 1947 - 2008
The story of city publishing giant Emap and its sale to German publisher Bauer in January 2008.
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The deal, which will be concluded by lawyers in the next few weeks, had led to anxiety about the future of the 700 people who work for Emap in Peterborough, mostly at the firm's Lynch Wood offices.
Emap chairman Alun Cathcart said after the shareholders' meeting that on the question of job security nothing could be ruled out.
He added: "We feel this is the best possible deal for the company."
He said there were not any overlaps between the two businesses and that would rule out the need to reduce staff numbers.
And a spokeswoman for H Bauer said today: "The only change we envisage going forward will be the name.
She said: "The Bauer group has invested in Emap as a strong and successful business.
"We would hope that this success can be maintained long into the future."
Managing director of H Bauer Publishing David Good-child said: "The planned purchase of Emap fits perfectly with our current strategy for international expansion.
"This is fantastic news for the group and in particular for the UK business.
"The Emap portfolio contains some of the strongest brands in the UK both in radio and magazines.
He added: "We look forward to working with both teams in building the business to even greater heights."
Commentator for national media trade magazine the Press Gazette Colin Crummy said: "It is a good move in that Bauer is a massive company, and it really knows about magazines and there will be money to invest.
"However, there is going to be some initial uncertainty until Bauer has looked at the figures. There are a number of Emap titles that are not doing so well, and there maybe some overlap with Bauer's publications."
Richard Winfrey, who is the son of the Emap founder and is former managing director and deputy chairman of the company who retired in 1997, has previously told ET Business: "I feel very disappointed that the present management has not seen fit to run and develop the company.
"There is nothing wrong with the company. I don't think it had to be sold.
But he added: "I suppose that under Bauer it will be owned by a private company that will not be a victim of the stock market's obsession with short term gain, which may be of some relief to the staff."
How they voted
Resolution 1: To authorise the disposal of Emap's consumer media business: Votes for: 110,441,374 – 97.95 per cent of vote, votes against: 566,236 – 0.50 per cent of vote, votes withheld: 1,745,341 – 1.55 per cent of vote.
Resolution 2: To authorise the disposal of Emap's Radio business
Votes for: 110,437,474 – 97.95 per cent of vote, votes against: 569,509 – 0.50 per cent of vote, votes withheld: 1,745,968 – 1.55 per cent of vote.
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