Swisscom is exercising its right to purchase the 31 percent holding in Swisscom Directories (Localsearch) held by Tamedia in a move that will make Swisscom the company's sole shareholder. The transaction is scheduled to be completed during the first quarter of 2019.
In 2015, Search.ch was merged with Localsearch, in which Tamedia holds a 31 percent interest and Swisscom a 69 percent interest. As part of the merger, Swisscom granted Tamedia a put option and Tamedia granted Swisscom a call option for Tamedia's holding in Localsearch. These options have been exercisable since mid-2018.
Swisscom is now exercising its right to purchase Tamedia's 31-percent stake, which will make Swisscom the sole shareholder of Localsearch. Based in Zurich, the provider of marketing and advertising services for SMEs has more than 800 employees and operates Switzerland's biggest directory platforms, Local.ch and Search.ch. It offers professional website creation, online advertising and campaigns, online booking systems, customer management systems and an extensive web presence on all major Swiss platforms.
The transaction is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2019. The exercise price amounts to CHF 220 million plus non-essential cash and cash equivalents. The transaction will have no impact on Swisscom's net debt as the exercising of the option has already been accounted for.
