DirectGroup Bertelsmann to Acquire Largest Portuguese Bookstore Chain Bertrand

DirectGroup Bertelsmann is purposefully further strengthening its market position in the European book distribution business by acquiring Livraria Bertrand, the largest chain of bookstores in Portugal with 48 branches. Headquartered in Lisbon, the Bertrand Group generated revenues of more then EUR 40 million last year and employs a workforce of approximately 400. The main shareholder in the company was previously a group of investors from Luxemburg. An agreement was reached not to disclose the purchase price.

“DirectGroup is steadily expanding its business activities,” said Ewald Walgenbach, CEO of DirectGroup Bertelsmann: “We are continuing to make investments and pursue our strategy in a consistent manner.” DirectGroup seeks to acquire additional customers by establishing a closer link between the Club and bookstores. “This creates synergies and speeds up our growth at the same time,” stated Walgenbach.

“We are now the leading bookseller in Portugal,” said Fernando Carro, who is responsible for business in Central and Southern Europe as divisional head of DirectGroup. “We are purposefully expanding our sales channels,” underscored Carro. DirectGroup now has bookstores in Portugal for the first time. The DirectGroup Book Club Círculo de Leitores previously served its customers exclusively through personal customer care representatives and by mail.

The core of the profitable, fast-growing Bertrand Group is the modern bookstore chain Bertrand, which is present in 18 cities and has stores in all of the economically strong metropolitan areas such as Lisbon and Oporto as well as on Madeira and the Azores. The Group includes the successful publishing house Bertrand Editora, one of the five largest publishers in Portugal, as well as a wholesale book business.

About DirectGroup:
DirectGroup Bertelsmann brings media to people around the world – from books to music CDs to DVDs. DirectGroup serves more than 35 million customers in 22 countries, making it a key player among the largest enterprises in media commerce. The cornerstone of its business activities is formed by book clubs as well as music and DVD clubs. The various clubs such as France Loisirs (France), Book-of-the-Month Club (U.S.A.), Der Club (Germany), Circulo de Lectores (Spain) or BMG Columbia House (U.S.A.) are market leaders in their respective countries. Members have access to the clubs’ extensive product offer through catalogs, Internet or one of the 650 Club Centers and bookstores in Europe and Asia. DirectGroup Bertelsmann is a division of Bertelsmann AG and is headed by Ewald Walgenbach. DirectGroup generated some EUR 2.4 billion in revenues in fiscal 2005 with 13,500 employees.