Ekspress Grupp disputes the Lithuanian Competition Council's decision regarding Lrytas acquisition

Ekspress Grupp announces its intention to challenge in court the decision issued
today by the Lithuanian Competition Council refusing to grant clearance for the
acquisition of news portal Lrytas and ordering steps to restore the previous
market situation.

On February 7, 2025, the Lithuanian Competition Council published a decision
concluding that the concentration following AS Ekspress Grupp's acquisition of
UAB Lrytas has created or strengthened a dominant position or significantly
impeded competition in the relevant market for the provision of news on non-
specialised national news portals in Lithuania. The Competition Council has
ordered Ekspress Grupp to take steps to restore the previous situation within 6
months from the day the decision was served to the addressee.

Mari-Liis Rüütsalu, Chairman of the Management Board of Ekspress Grupp, stated
that Ekspress Grupp strongly disagrees with the Competition Council's assessment
and will challenge the decision in court: "We fundamentally disagree with the
Competition Council's conclusion about the market impact of this acquisition.
The Lithuanian digital news market remains highly competitive, with multiple
strong players including state-funded media, other media conglomerates, and
significant competition from specialized news portals and social media. Consumer
behaviour shows that readers regularly access multiple news sources, with
technology enabling instant switching between different platforms and providers.
We believe there is no basis to conclude that this acquisition could impede
effective competition in the market.

Lrytas represents approximately 5% of Ekspress Grupp's total turnover and 2% of
the Group's EBITDA. While Lrytas is an important part of our digital media
portfolio, its relative size in the context of our group operations underscores
our position regarding market competition concerns."

AS          Ekspress          Grupp          acquired         UAB         Lrytas
(https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id=b3244c7dfd30ede01f57b8a40ad49690e&lang=
en&src=listed) at the end of the year 2022. The Competition Council of Lithuania
started                             an                             investigation
(https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id=b968fa838de410a90a99b199a827724a7&lang=
en&src=listed) of Lrytas UAB acquisition in August, 2023 and published its first
decision
(https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id=b1c26d6836a8eaf1436f0e160e36c94f9&lang=
en&src=listed)  in December,  2023. According to  that decision,  Ekspress Grupp
submitted            a           merger           control           notification
(https://view.news.eu.nasdaq.com/view?id=b6b95fb58a82d30fbbff79517ed57b47f&lang=
en&src=listed) in May, 2024.

Mari-Liis Rüütsalu
Chairman of the Management Board
+372 512 2591
[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

AS Ekspress Grupp is the leading Baltic media group whose key activities include
web media content production, and publishing of newspapers, magazines and books.
The Group also operates an electronic ticket sales platform and ticket sales
offices in Estonia and Latvia. Ekspress Grupp launched its operations in 1989
and employs almost 1100 people.