The Board of Schibsted ASA has appointed Orla Noonan as Chair of the Interim Board of MPI. Peter Brooks-Johnson and Terje Seljeseth are appointed Interim Board members. MPI is the preliminary name of Schibsted’s international online classifieds operation, which will be spun off and established as an independent, listed company.
The Interim Board will act as the board of the future MPI business during the demerger and listing process, within a scope decided by the Schibsted Board. In matters that exceed the Interim Board’s limits of authority, the Interim Board shall serve as a preparatory body for the Board’s deliberations and decision.
Orla Noonan has been a member of Schibsted’s Board since 2017. She is also an independent board member of Iliad and SMCP. Noonan held the position of CEO of Groupe AB, a leading producer and distributor of audio-visual content in French-speaking Europe, between 2014 and 2018. Noonan had held various positions in Groupe AB since joining the company in 1996, overseeing strategic development, as well as IPOs in New York and Paris.
Peter Brooks-Johnson has a broad experience from online classifieds. He has been a member of the Rightmove plc Board since January 2011 and was more recently appointed Chief Executive Officer of Rightmove in May 2017. Rightmove is the UK’s leading real estate classifieds portal and the UK’s largest property marketplace. Prior to joining Rightmove Brooks-Johnson was a management consultant with Accenture and the Berkeley Partnership.
Terje Seljeseth is currently Chief Analyst at The Tinius Trust, Schibsted’s largest shareholder. He has 33 years’ experience from Schibsted from various positions, including founding FINN.no in 1999 and managing the company for 10 years. In the period 2009 to 2015, Seljeseth was CEO of Schibsted Classified Media (SCM), the mother company for Schibsted’s international online classifieds operations. From 2015 to 2017, he was the Schibsted Group’s Chief Product Officer.
Background for MPI
The Board of directors of Schibsted ASA has initiated a process to reorganize the company into two growth-oriented companies. The international online classifieds operations (preliminarily named “MPI” – Marketplaces International) will be spun off and established as an independent, listed company. Schibsted, meanwhile, will comprise all activities in Norway, Sweden and Finland – including Finn.no, Blocket.se and Tori.fi.
Schibsted will retain a majority ownership in MPI at the time of the listing. Schibsted intends to remain an active, significant long-term owner in MPI, and the size and time horizon of Schibsted’s ownership will be tailored to support and develop shareholder value for both companies. MPI will be one of the global leaders in online classifieds, fully equipped to achieve long term growth with high profit margins.
Contact persons:
Nathalie Kåvin, Director of Communications, Schibsted Media Group
Mob: +47 934 01 363
nathalie.kavin@schibsted.com
Jo Christian Steigedal, VP Head of IR, Schibsted Media Group
Mob: +47 415 08 733
jcs@schibsted.com
Schibsted ASA, Oslo, 8 October 2018
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Schibsted Media Group is an international media group with over 8000 employees in 22 countries. From Norway to Morocco, from Brazil to Italy – millions of people around the world interact with Schibsted´s popular digital services every day. In Scandinavia, our media houses such as VG, Aftenposten, Bergens Tidende, Aftonbladet and Svenska Dagbladet keep people informed and updated on important issues in society. Our digital marketplaces such as Finn.no, Blocket.se and Leboncoin.fr help people buy and sell new and old things. In addition, our growth companies such as Lendo and Prisjakt provide our users with popular, digital consumer services that make their everyday life a bit easier. Together, this fulfils Schibsted Media Group’s mission of “Empowering people in their daily life”. Learn more at www.schibsted.com.