EU OKs 'Euro JOA' In Holland

By: Mark Fitzgerald The JOA (joint operating agreement) is coming to Europe.

The European Commission announced Thursday that it had approved a joint venture between two big Dutch newspaper publishers -- PCM Holding and Koninklijke Wegener -- to create a new national daily with local editions targeting Randstad, the most densely populated region in The Netherlands.

In contrast to U.S. JOAs, however, this joint venture comes with a prohibition on the joint selling of national advertising. European Commission clearance of the joint venture was required under the European Union Merger Regulation.

"To avoid competition concerns arising from possible co-ordination of Wegener with PCM and the joint venture in the sale of advertising space, Wegener has committed not to sell national advertisement space jointly with the joint venture or with PCM," the commission said in a statement.

For the joint venture, PCM will combine one of national daily newspapers, Algemeen Dagblad plus its three regional newspapers -- Rotterdams Dagblad, Rijn en Gouwe and De Dordtenaar -- with two of Wegener's regional newspapers: Utrechts Nieuwsblad/Amersfoortse Courant and Haagsche Courant/Goudsche Courant.

The Commission said the new newspaper, which was not named, would have an "innovative national-regional format," publishing 19 different editions that will have both a common national segment and local news. It said the main focus of the new paper would be the Randstad region, but that there would also be "for the time being" an Amsterdam edition. A "purely national edition" will be published outside Randstad.

With the addition of the new joint venture newspaper, Wegener and PCM together would account for "around 50 percent of national advertising in The Netherlands," the Commission said.

"The transaction raised serious doubts as to the possible alignment of their activities in this market," it noted. "However, the commitment of the parties that Wegener shall refrain from selling or offering advertisement space jointly with advertisement space in the daily newspapers of PCM or the joint venture will eliminate the competition concerns."

PCM, which is controlled by the British private equity group Apax, publishes four of the top five Dutch national dailies, as well as regional dailies, shoppers and other free papers, books, and software. Wegener, based in Amsterdam, publishes local and regional papers with a combined circulation of 1.2 million copies, as well as shoppers and niche publications. It also runs direct marketing programs in The Netherlands, with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, and Scandinavia.