Metro International closes franchise operation in Croatia



Metro International S.A.  ("Metro International"), the  international
newspaper  group,  today  announced  that  it  is  discontinuing  the
activities  of  its  franchise  operation  Metropolis  d.o.o  ("Metro
Croatia") in Croatia which publishes the free newspaper  Metroexpress
in Croatia. Metro Croatia is 99% owned by the franchisee, Europapress
Holding  (EPH).  Friday  12  September  2008  was  the  last  day  of
publication for Metroexpress.

Metroxpress was  launched in  Zagreb in  May 2006  and has  grown  to
become one or the largest free daily papers in Croatia. Despite this,
the newspaper's results during the past six months have fallen  below
expectation and it was recently converted into a weekly  publication.
Due to the  circumstances, a  decision has  been made  to close  down
Metro Croatia and consequently terminate the Franchise Agreement.

The net EBIT effect of the close  down of Metro Croatia in 2008  will
be close to nil for Metro International.


For further information please contact:
Per Mikael Jensen,  CEO and President                            tel:
+44 (0)20 7016 1300
Robert Patterson, Executive vice President                       tel:
+44 (0)20 7016 1300


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ABOUT METRO INTERNATIONAL AND METRO
Metro is the largest international newspaper in the world. Metro is
published in over 150 major cities in 21 countries across Europe,
North & South America and Asia. Metro has a unique global reach -
attracting a young, active, well-educated Metropolitan audience of
over 20 million daily readers. Metro's advertising sales have grown
at a compound annual rate of 38% since the launch of the first
edition in 1995.

Metro International 'A' and 'B' shares are listed on the OMX Nordic
Exchange's Nordic List under the symbols MTRO SBD A and MTRO SBD B.

Attachments

Press release PDF