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Lagardère enters into definitive agreement to acquire Jumpstart Automotive Media

Category

Corporate & other activities

Paris, April 19, 2007

Lagardère SCA has announced today, April 19, 2007, that its subsidiary, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. (HFMUS), a member of LAGARDERE ACTIVE, will acquire 100% of Jumpstart Automotive Media (“Jumpstart”).

Jumpstart is a leading online advertising network serving the US automotive sector and providing a full line of advertising products and services to auto makers and dealers. Jumpstart’s main activities are :

  • Selling advertising space on five of the top automotive sites in the USA (NADAguides.com, Vehix, JD Power & Associates Autos, How Stuff Works/Consumer Guide Autos, Shopping.com Auto, an eBay company)
  • Generating some of its revenues from behavioral targeting, which serves ads based on internet user behaviors.
  • Offering consultancy services aimed at optimizing the efficiency of search engine marketing.
  • Offering lead generation services, selling lists of potential customers obtained from partner sites to auto wholesalers and dealerships.
    Jumpstart’s advertiser client base includes all auto manufacturers and over one thousand auto dealerships and dealer groups.

Jumpstart reported 2006 revenues(1) of .1 million (95.5% higher than in 2005). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) reached breakeven in 2006. The company was cash-positive at end 2006.

In 2007, Jumpstart is expected to see strong growth in both revenues and EBIT.

An initial cash payment of million is payable under the terms of the agreement.
Additional consideration of up to a maximum amount of million will be paid in 2008 and 2010 contingent on the attainment of certain specified earnings targets.

The transaction is expected to give HFMUS and LAGARDERE ACTIVE globally, the opportunity to develop the following synergies:

  • Combining the three HFMUS web sites with the Jumpstart portfolio will raise total unique visitors represented to 5 million (ComScore figure), and adding HFMUS’s three popular high-end brands (CarandDriver.com, RoadandTrack.com and Cycleworld.com) will enhance the attractiveness of the product offering to advertisers.
  • Jumpstart’s expertise in search and display advertising for dealerships and dealer groups (a total category estimated at billion) will boost the HFMUS sites.
  • The experience of Jumpstart’s specialist digital teams (over 75 professionals) will help HFMUS accelerate the transition to digital in the automotive sector in the United States, as well as LAGARDERE ACTIVE in Europe and Asia.
  • The deal significantly reinforces HFMUS’s cross-media strategy of combining print media and digital.
  • The expertise built by HFMUS in automotive content (including video) can be rolled out across Jumpstart’s partner sites, and offered to Jumpstart’s dealership client base.

Closing of the transaction is expected to occur prior to the end of May 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including anti-trust approval.

(1) 2006 revenues are unaudited and proforma as restated for IFRS as applied by the group Lagardère

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The Lagardère Group is a market leader in the media sector (books, distribution of cultural products, press, audiovisual, and sports content). The Group also has interests in the high technology sector via a 14.98% stake in EADS.

Lagardère shares are listed in Paris on Eurolist by Euronext – Compartment A.

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