WSOY Acquires the Leading Hungarian Educational Publishing and Training Group

WSOY Acquires the Leading Hungarian Educational Publishing and Training Group

WSOY, part of the SanomaWSOY Group, has acquired 75% -1 share of the leading Hungarian educational group, Láng Kiadó és Holding Zrt. (Láng). The group consists of two companies: 70.35% of Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó Rt. (NTK), the leading educational publisher in Hungary, and 100% of Perfekt Zrt., one of the leading vocational training companies in Hungary. Láng had pro forma consolidated net sales of EUR 27.5 million in 2005. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Hungarian competition authorities.

Two Hungarian private investors will continue as minority shareholders of Láng with a 25% + 1 share influence. APV Rt., the Hungarian state privatisation office, has a 25% minority holding in NTK, and the employees of NTK own 4.65% of the company?s shares.

WSOY's educational publishing business, SanomaWSOY Education, is a significant European educational publisher and it aims to become a leader in Europe. The CEE countries are in special focus in its growth strategy.

- The educational market in Hungary is in a very interesting stage because of the ongoing reforms of curricula and the increased attention towards the use of ICT in all educational areas. Both NTK and Perfekt are in an excellent position to take an advantage of these developments. The companies fit into SanomaWSOY Education well on both strategic and operational levels, says Jacques Eijkens, CEO of SanomaWSOY Education.

- Educational publishing is one of SanomaWSOY?s key strategic areas. Finland and Hungary share a long history of friendship and successful cooperation, especially in education, science, and culture. This is a good step forward in elaborating our international strategy, says Jorma Kaimio, President of WSOY.


NTK and Perfekt currently employ 300 persons, whose contracts of employment will not be affected by this transaction. The companies have a joint head-office in Budapest.

Further information: Jacques Eijkens, CEO, SanomaWSOY Education, tel. +31 653 729 339


SanomaWSOY Education is a business of WSOY, the publishing and educational publishing division of the media group SanomaWSOY (Finland). SanomaWSOY had in 2005 total net sales of EUR 2.62 billion, operating profit of EUR 301 million, and almost 17,000 employees. SanomaWSOY Education is a significant European educational publisher. It serves its customers by offering a broad range of educational products and services and also enhances education by making learning processes attractive and effective. SanomaWSOY Education consists of LCG Malmberg B.V. (the Netherlands), Van In N.V. (Belgium), WSOY Oppimateriaalit Oy (Finland), and Young Digital Poland S.A. (Poland).

NTK is the leading educational publisher in Hungary. It has a very large product portfolio with over 2,300 titles; approximately half of these are included on Hungary's Ministry of Education?s list of approved titles. NTK was established in 1949.

Perfekt is one of the leading educational training companies in Hungary. Training services include provision of courses e.g. in economics, finance, IT, and foreign languages to companies and individuals. Perfekt has over 20,000 customers yearly. The company was established in 1951.