MeteoGroup reaches agreement to acquire leading European weather business

MeteoGroup, Europe’s largest private sector weather business and wholly owned subsidiary of PA Group, has reached agreement to buy mminternational (Europe) AG, a major Swiss-German weather company. The agreement will see MeteoGroup expand its global operations to 14 countries, making it one of the largest weather companies in the world with almost 400 employees and combined annual turnover of more than €50 million.

MeteoGroup, which provides weather services for corporate, industrial, media and consumer markets including key sectors such as transport, marine and energy, has more than doubled in size since its acquisition by PA Group in 2005.

Mminternational (Europe), formerly known as meteomedia, operates a media division and provides decision support systems for weather-critical industries such as energy, logistics and insurance. It also has the highest density of private weather stations in Europe. The network of 830 proprietary weather stations across Germany and Switzerland opens up new and exciting opportunities for developing high resolution forecasting technologies.

As part of the agreement, MeteoGroup will also enter into a joint venture, mminternational (Asia) Ltd, to develop business opportunities in the Asian market, where both MeteoGroup and mminternational (Europe) are already active.

Jennie Campbell, managing director of MeteoGroup, said: “We are delighted to be able to bring together two of the leading weather businesses in Europe, consolidating our position as one of the largest private sector weather companies in the world.

“The agreement to buy mminternational (Europe) is part of MeteoGroup’s long-term investment strategy, directly benefiting our customers with the addition of more skilled resource and an extended product portfolio.”

Martin Kurer, mminternational (Europe)’s chairman, said: “MeteoGroup and mminternational (Europe) are complementary businesses, sharing a culture of quality, innovation, customer service and continuous improvement in forecasting and products. Both company’s customers demand smart, high quality and cost efficient solutions and the combined strength of the two businesses will mean more resources, more R&D expertise and increased efficiency.

“I am also delighted to be heading up our Asian joint venture, which will see expansion in the Philippines, where a network of 1,000 weather stations is currently being implemented. With MeteoGroup’s support, we are looking forward to maximising the exciting opportunities for growth in the Asian market.”

The acquisition is subject to regulatory clearance in Germany.

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MeteoGroup

MeteoGroup has a global customer base and operations in ten European countries, the USA and Southeast Asia, as well as representatives in the Middle East and Far East.

Founded in 1986, it combines experience and global coverage with local expertise to offer its customers highly accurate and bespoke weather services.

Meteorologists provide forecasts, support and monitoring and consultancy services 24 hours a day. In addition, a dedicated weather modelling team develop MeteoGroup’s in-house systems and forecasting techniques.

MeteoGroup is a full-service weather business supplying tailored products to business and consumer markets. It also has an in-house broadcast graphics operation providing services to broadcasters across Europe and it provides graphics for innovative mobile consumer products and cutting edge visualisation for corporate and industrial decision support tools.

The company developed WeatherPro, Europe’s leading paid-for weather App.


Mminternational (Europe) AG

mminternational (Europe) is a leading provider of high quality weather solutions, supplying services to a wide range of industries for over 20 years.

The media division, meteomedia, provides weather services to TV, radio, print, online and mobile customers, as well as to the tourist industry. meteoDSS is a division offering decision support systems to industries including energy and trading, insurance, logistics, retail, construction and agriculture; enhancing processes, planning, action and risk management.

Mminternational (Europe) operates its own private weather measurement network, the densest in Europe, and has access to 17,000 weather stations from national weather services worldwide. The measurement data is processed using the world’s best weather models, producing accurate local weather forecasts of the highest quality. The meteorologists regularly win international forecasting competitions. It is also a specialist and innovation leader in early severe weather warnings and is the only private weather service to operate its own Severe Weather Centers.


PA Group Limited

Headquartered in London, PA Group is an international group of news, information and communications businesses which include the Press Association, the national news agency of the UK and Ireland, and MeteoGroup, Europe’s largest private sector weather business.