Talking about freesheet wars, is it entirely far-fetched to assume the Swedish freesheet war is partially to blame for Metro International's disappointing first quarter results? The company's CEO, Pelle Törnberg, has said resignations in the marketing department and poor management is to blame for Metro's lacklustre performance in Sweden, identified as one of the company's problem areas, but in any case, the plummeting stock price is expected to make Metro an even more attractive acquisition object, and comes in handy for potential suitors – should the company be for sale.

Last week Dagens Naeringsliv speculated that Norwegian Schibsted was courting the Swedish freesheet giant, eagerly eyeing an opportunity to marry its online expertise with Metro's freesheet expertise, a rumour Schibsted's CEO, Kjell Aamot, declined to deny or confirm. Schibsted's freesheets are of course bigger than Metro's in both France and Spain, but in Sweden Metro is still in poll position among the freesheets, and swallowing a key competitor might increase ad revenues in all markets where Schibsted and Metro are head-to-head.