Consortium,which includes Carlyle Group to buy Dutch media giant VNU

Dutch media giant VNU has accepted a 7.5bn euro (£5.1bn) buyout bid from a group of six private investors.

The offer by the consortium, which includes the Blackstone Group and the Carlyle Group, is higher than the 7.3bn euro offer originally made in January.

However, it remains unclear whether shareholders, who have been critical of the deal, will accept it.

The deal is a turnaround for VNU, which planned to double in size by buying healthcare data provider IMS last year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4785776.stm

Would this extend the media mergers more into European market, so THEY can't find stuff out either? Or does VNU already have significant US assets?

Company Profile

Since 1964, VNU has expanded from a Dutch publishing firm into a major international information and media company. Today VNU provides millions of people around the world with business and professional intelligence. Our 38,000 employees are working worldwide in more than 100 countries. Total revenues under IFRS amounted to EUR 3.3 billion in 2004. VNU is listed on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange (ASE: VNU), and the company is part of the AEX index of leading Netherlands-based stocks. VNU’s headquarters are located in Haarlem, The Netherlands and New York, USA.

http://www.vnu.com/about/companyProfile/


Media Measurement and Information

VNU Media Measurement & Information: global leader in measuring the usage of media. Every day, thousands of companies around the world rely on the information of VNU Media Measurement & Information to help them improve their business performance. We deliver to radio and TV stations, broadcasters, advertisers, advertising agencies, media planners, publishing companies, music companies, motion picture studios, entertainment and Internet companies. Media Measurement & Information has several services. Below you find a short description. For more information you can visit the website of each business unit.

http://www.vnu.com/about/companyProfile/mediaMeasurement.html