The original owners, the Foundation for Democracy and Media and two smaller foundations, have bought back the controlling stake of 52,5 % which part had been acquired by Apax Partners just in June 2004. Intensively financial re-engenering was very profitable for Apax, but saddled PCM with heavy new debts, many changes in the executive board, a lot of internal conflicts about the strategy with competitive own and free media.

In this continuing struggling Democracy and Media made Apax an offer what could not been refused. But it did not yet bring back the company in control.

A statement about the secret talks with the foundation Je Maintiendrai, owners of NDC/VBK and the plain qualities of their chairman Jan de Roos, was a reason that PCM’s CEO Ton aan den Stegge quit at once – just before his first year has passed. He has after the two Apax supervisors been followed by two other members of the Supervisory Board, who also had not been informed about the courtship between the foundations
PCM (www.pcmuitgevers.nl) is publisher of three independent national newspapers De Volkskrant, Trouw, NRC Handelsblad (with the new successful NRC Next), and owns 67 % of the regionalized national AD Newsmedia. The total turnover in 2006 was 675 million euros, and the net loss lowered from 51 million to 32 million euros.

NDC/VBK www.ndc.vbk.nl publishes the newspapers Leeuwarder Courant and Dagblad van het Noorden and  has a turnover of 300 million with a net profit of 28 million euros.

Written by Jan Prins, former World Editors Forum Board member