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February 27, 2023 / 10:32

Eurozet in the Agora Group - Agora's historic transaction

On Monday, 27 February 2023, the court of second instance upheld the unconditional approval of Agora's acquisition of control over Eurozet Sp. z o.o. Following this, the company finalised its largest ever investment in the media - under an agreement signed on the same day, it became the owner of a controlling stake in Eurozet. - Thanks to the merger of Agora Radio Group and Eurozet, as the second largest broadcaster in Poland, we are now competing for the leading position in the Polish radio market - announces Bartosz Hojka, President of Agora's Management Board.

On 27 February 2023 Agora signed an agreement with Eurozet's previous majority stakeholder Czech company SFS Ventures s.r.o., buying purchasing 110 shares in Eurozet Sp. z o.o., constituting 11% of the share capital and giving 11% of the total number of votes at the shareholders' meeting of Eurozet. According to the agreement, Agora paid the starting price of EUR 9.17 million (the final price will be determined based on the provisions of the shareholders' agreement), financing the transaction thanks to a loan granted by SFS Ventures (more information - in the company's stock exchange announcements - https://agora. pl/for-investors).

As a result, Agora became the majority stakeholder of Eurozet with shares representing 51% of the share capital and 51% of votes at the shareholders' meeting. Agora was able to take control of Eurozet after a final decision of the court of second instance, which upheld the unconditional consent to the transaction.

- The acquisition of Eurozet is the largest investment in media in Agora's history, planned and consistently executed by us against all odds - comments Bartosz Hojka, President of the Management Board of Agora. - Agora has been a major player in the Polish radio market for more than a quarter of a century and has made a major contribution to building professional radio in the country. We are the creators of many radio formats, including the exceptional Radio TOK FM – in my opinion the biggest success story in Polish media of the last decade. Eurozet Group is a broadcaster with a great team, enormous achievements and potential. By joining forces, we are becoming the second largest broadcaster in the Polish airwaves.

After Eurozet joins the Agora Group, its radio activity, which from that moment is the largest media segment of the Group, will include 9 radio stations in the TOP20 most listened to stations in Poland - each week they are listened to by over 18 million adult Poles. Their total audience share exceeds 26%.

- This is not the final, however, but another step in Agora's strategic plan, which is to achieve the number one position in the radio market in Poland in terms of listenership and sales - adds Bartosz Hojka.

Agora will soon announce a plan of action aimed at combining the strengths of the Agora Radio Group and Eurozet. These will primarily concern organisational changes, as well as a joint commercial offer.

Agora has been a minority stakeholder in Eurozet Sp. z o.o. since 2019. In the same year, the company filed a notification with the President of the OCCP regarding its intention of concentration – taking control of Eurozet by purchasing the remaining 60% of the company's shares from majority investor SFS Ventures. The proceedings in this case took almost a year and a half and were one of the longest in the OCCP's history. In January 2021, the President of OCCP Tomasz Chróstny prohobited Agora from acquiring Eurozet.

– The decision was based on assumptions and abstract hypotheses. In the opinion of experts on the media market, as well as on the economics of concentration, the arguments of the President of the OCCP were detached from the market situation, and the ban – applied for the first time in 9 years – was issued contrary to the law – recalls Anna Kryńska-Godlewska, a member of Agora's Management Board. – That is why we appealed against the decision two years ago, and in May 2022 we received the verdict of the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection in the form of unconditional consent to the acquisition of Eurozet. This ruling was sealed today by a final verdict of the Court of Appeals, giving us – after months of administrative and court battle – the opportunity to proceed with key plans for the company.

Agora has so far owned 3 local music radio stations: Radio Zlote Przeboje, Radio Pogoda and Rock Radio, and has been a majority co-owner of the supra-regional Radio TOK FM. Agora Radio Group is intensively developing its online presence, including its premium offer – the number of purchased TOK FM Premium accesses exceeded 30,000 at the end of October 2022, and Tuba, a new music and podcast website for young audiences, has been operating since November 2022.

Eurozet's portfolio includes five radio stations: Radio ZET, Antyradio, Chillizet, Meloradio and Radio Plus, as well as websites, including radiozet.pl, antyradio.pl, chillizet.pl, planeta.pl and radiostacja.pl. Eurozet also operates Studio ZET, which produces commercials, and Eurozet Live, a brand dedicated to cross-media projects, place and event marketing.

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Eurozet in the Agora Group - Agora's historic transaction