North Media –
Value waiting to be recognized
North Media trades at a persistent deep discount to underlying values. The market barely credits the core operating businesses, while the company’s other assets, listed equities, cash and real estate, represent tangible and realizable balance-sheet items. With an estimated NAV discount approaching 70%, share buybacks would be a highly effective way to increase shareholder value.
In brief
Significant value, weak market recognition
North Media owns profitable businesses in distribution and digital services. At the same time, the company holds a large securities portfolio that helps obscure the underlying value. These liquid assets create accounting noise, complicate the capital structure, weaken market understanding and help keep the discount elevated.
Discount to NAV
68 %
The market prices the company well below the value of its assets less debt.
NAV per share
DKK 158
Based on assets, cash, real estate and net debt.
Securities portfolio
DKK 820m
Large positions including NVDA, MSFT, NOVO and AAPL.
1 DKK deployed to buybacks
3,6 DKK
This is how much NAV per share can increase for every krone spent on buybacks at the current trading level.
What North Media actually is
An operating company, not an investment fund.
North Media consists of several solid operating businesses with leading market positions and positive cash flow. FK Distribution and SDR account for the majority of group revenue and distribute more than 1.1 billion printed items annually to roughly 6.5 million households.
BoligPortal is Denmark’s leading rental housing marketplace, with around 600,000 monthly users and close to a 30% EBIT margin. Dayli distributes digital offers to 1.5 million registered users and generates more than 130 million reads annually. Bekey provides keyless access solutions with more than 14 million doors in its network.
The balance sheet
Why this matters
The large securities portfolio means North Media’s reported results are driven to a meaningful extent by market movements rather than operations. That weakens the link between operations and reported earnings, reduces transparency in the earnings picture, makes multiples less informative and contributes to the market placing less weight on the underlying operating value.
Why buybacks work
Simple logic, buy back your own shares at a deep discount.
When North Media can buy back its own shares at a significant discount to underlying value, NAV per remaining share increases. The market’s clear verdict is that this is a more value-creating form of capital allocation than maintaining a separate portfolio of listed equities. The reason is simple: the company’s own shares are materially cheaper because they trade at a deep discount to NAV.
What happens if the portfolio is sold and the proceeds are used for buybacks?
Adjust the assumptions and see the effect in real time.
DKK 0m
DKK 44
Discount after buyback
NAV per share
Shares after buyback
NAV uplift per share
Portfolio remaining
DKK 820m
Implied share price
DKK 47
−4 % upside
Closing price 1 April 2026: DKK 49
NAV per share
Based on 18.03 million net shares outstanding (20.055 million shares less 2.030 million treasury shares) and total NAV of DKK 2,790.6m. Closing price updates automatically after the market close. Simplified model that does not account for transaction costs, tax or market impact.
The portfolio problem
Replicable, technology-heavy portfolio
The portfolio includes NVDA (29%), MSFT (14%), NOVO (12%), AAPL (11%), AMZN (8%) and TER (9%). These are leading high-quality companies with deep liquidity and broad research coverage that any investor can own directly. In our view, there is no strategic rationale for this exposure to sit inside North Media. Corporate capital should be allocated where North Media has the greatest informational advantage, the highest strategic relevance, the best implied return and the strongest capital allocation effect, namely in its own shares.
Largest holdings
- NVDA29 %
- MSFT14 %
- NOVO12 %
- AAPL11 %
- AMZN8 %
- TER9 %
- Other17 %
Evidence and precedent
This is not just theory. Several companies have made it work in practice.
Otello
Otello bought back around 10% of its shares through three programmes in 2025, at an average price of roughly NOK 12 versus a share price of around NOK 18 today. The share price rose by roughly 138% over 12 months. The point is not the share-price move alone. The company was taken seriously because capital allocation became credible.
Topdanmark
Topdanmark retired 72% of its shares over the period 1998 to 2015 and delivered around 20% annual total return. It is a strong Nordic example of what disciplined capital return can mean over time.
What we propose
Five proposals for the annual general meeting.
The board recommends voting against all proposals under item 5.4. We disagree and believe the proposals, taken together, would make North Media easier to understand, more predictable for shareholders and better positioned for value creation.
Cancel treasury shares
Extraordinary dividend
New buyback authorization
Clear capital allocation rules
Review the incentive scheme
Annual general meeting
How to participate
The annual general meeting takes place at 15:00 at Gladsaxe Møllevej 28, 2860 Søborg, Denmark.
Buy in time
The last day to buy shares with voting rights is 3 April (T+2).
Fullmakt
The deadline to grant proxy is 6 April at 23:59 via Computershare or North Media’s general meeting page.
Poststemme
Frist for poststemme er 9. april kl. 12:00.
Our recommendation
Stem FOR forslag 5.4.1, 5.4.2, 5.4.3, 5.4.4 og 5.4.5.
Praktisk
You can vote in person, by proxy or by postal vote. North Media’s information page and the form below make it easier to vote, including for foreign investors.
Viktig presisering
This is a shareholder initiative. We believe the proposals are responsible and value-creating, but investors must make their own assessment of both the company and how they vote.
Support the proposal
Register your support for the proposals.
If you are a shareholder and support the proposals under item 5.4, you can register your support here. The registration is used to document shareholder interest to the board.
Provide your name, email, country and number of shares.
This registration is non-binding and is used only to document shareholder support to the board.
Analyst
Kristian Ragnvaldsen
Analyst
The figures, analyses, calculations and scenarios on this page have been prepared by Kristian Ragnvaldsen.
Press
Press contact
Press releases
Press releases and documents
Press releases are published on an ongoing basis.
Contact us for press enquiries.
Press releases are published as downloadable PDFs. For comments, background information or interview requests, contact Peter directly.
Published by Idealkapital AS as a shareholder of North Media A/S. We have a financial interest in the company’s development and may buy or sell shares without notice. The analytical basis is built on publicly available information as of March 2026 and may be outdated. The content on this page is not investment advice, and registering support here is not the same as granting proxy or casting a vote. Personal data submitted in the form is processed by Idealkapital AS to document shareholder support and, where consent is given, to send updates by email. You may request deletion at any time by contacting post@idealkapital.no.