Agenda David Montgomery of Mecom falters
In Germany is the resistance the strongest. But also in the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway is the unrest growing against the plans of David Montgomery of Mecom, the British newspaper owner. His strategy of claiming higher profits to 20 procent, slendering the organisations and mixing up the editorial and commercial staff is going against the priciple standards of the journalists working in the field. Last month the staff of the Berliner Verlag have hold a ‘warnstreik’ (a warn strike). In the Netherlands is a strike just delayed and will only be prevented if the newspaper publisher Wegener of Mecom will come with lower profit claims.
Montgomery is now in a very difficult possition. On the one hand growing resantance against his stratagy and on the other the claims of his stakeholders. His company Mecom has grown very fast the last three years. The revenues grow from 213 to 983 million Britsh Pound through buying newspaper publishers in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Poland and The Netherlands for about 1500 million Pound. Therefore the company have make loans of 589 million, which have to be cleared off within the next five years. A growing interest and to few cahflow to pay interest and discharges brings Montgomery in a realy bad position. Especially when the share price slumped down, as it did, from 97 pence last year to 19 pence today (18 July 2008). It is already speculated that Mecom has to sell the newspaper publishers in Germany and The Netherlands again. On one of the buildings of the Dutch Newspapergroup of Wegener it was mentioned on a big banner: the killing feelds of Mecom.
Montgomery is now in a very difficult possition. On the one hand growing resantance against his stratagy and on the other the claims of his stakeholders. His company Mecom has grown very fast the last three years. The revenues grow from 213 to 983 million Britsh Pound through buying newspaper publishers in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Poland and The Netherlands for about 1500 million Pound. Therefore the company have make loans of 589 million, which have to be cleared off within the next five years. A growing interest and to few cahflow to pay interest and discharges brings Montgomery in a realy bad position. Especially when the share price slumped down, as it did, from 97 pence last year to 19 pence today (18 July 2008). It is already speculated that Mecom has to sell the newspaper publishers in Germany and The Netherlands again. On one of the buildings of the Dutch Newspapergroup of Wegener it was mentioned on a big banner: the killing feelds of Mecom.
spinhof 