Atex and Media Command finalized their merger, resulting in the formation of Atex Media Command, on July 24.

Under the terms of the merger, Atex shareholders, led by the Norwegian investment group Kistefos, will control 55 percent of the shares of the merged entity and Media Command’s shareholders will control the rest.

Atex Media Command appointed Dr. Ross Wood as CFO for Australia and New Zealand. Photo courtesy of Atex Media Command

Atex Media Command has appointed former Atex chief operating officer, Nancy Faunce, as director of the Americas, with transitional responsibility for Europe and Africa. Atex Chief Financial Officer, Peter McGovern will be the CFO of the new company. Media Command’s major shareholder, Robert Banner, will become Atex Media Command’s executive chairman.

Although he helped to bring about the merger and supported the formation of the new company, Atex President and Chief Executive Officer, Max Coebergh left Atex Media Command at the end of July to pursue other interests.

“Max was a key driver in creating the Atex strategy of joining with, or acquiring other vendors. He was continually positive as a member of the merger team,” Faunce said. “Without his efforts the deal would have been much harder to complete. To a larger extent, he has met his greatest challenge with the satisfactory conclusion of the merger. Now it’s right for him to move on and look for other challenges elsewhere.”

Product lines of both Atex and Media Command will be sustained under the new company name.

“We will continue to sell, support and enhance all product lines of both companies,” she said. “It is a commitment from the board on down to make sure that no customer is left behind.”

New products will be developed under the new company name as well.

“In the broadest sense, we’ll take our current advertising, content and circulation products and embrace the Internet further, incorporate more sophisticated business analytics, as well as apply emerging technologies where appropriate,” Faunce said.

As with any merger, layoffs are always a factor to consider. Faunce said, with the exception of eliminating redundant positions, there will not be any major layoffs.

“The companies joined forces to grow, not to shrink,” she said. “You grow by applying strong resources in an aggressive manner. And since all customers will continue to be supported, there is at least as much work to do now as before the merger.”

Faunce said that newspapers stand to benefit from the merger in that they will be able to work with one vendor that offers an extended product mix.

“Building upon each other’s strengths, the new company becomes a stronger, more viable vendor in the global marketplace,” she said. “Furthermore, we are following the lead of our customers, many of whom are merging, consolidating and acquiring properties. They are doing it to gain critical mass and become industry leaders — so are we.”

There are no plans for a new U.S. facility for Atex Media Command at this point and each of the companies’ previously independent facilities will stay where they are for the time being. The Atex and Media Command facilities in Melbourne, Australia, however have been combined, with Atex moving into the larger Media Command facility.

Atex Media Command appointed Dr. Ross Wood as chief executive officer of its operations in Australia and New Zealand. Wood has over 22 years of experience in the publishing industry and has held positions with the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun-Herald, the Age and the Australian Financial Review. Prior to those positions, Wood worked for nearly 17 years at the Sydney headquarters of Murdoch’s News Ltd.

“Being a customer for much of my career has made me very aware of the importance of listening and responding to customers, “ Wood said. “This will be my immediate focus at Atex Media Command.”

Atex Media Command’s additional regional offices are located in the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Singapore.