Immediate Media Co, the media business formed in 2011 by the merger of BBC Magazines and digital platform company Magicalia, is acquiring Future plc’s Sport and Craft titles for up to £24m, comprising up to £22 million in cash and £2 million of magazines subscriptions deferred revenue to be retained by Future. The transaction is set to complete during the summer.
Future’s Sport titles reach over 4.7 million unique users a month. Focused on cycling, the Sport portfolio includes BikeRadar.com,
the world’s largest cycling reviews website as well as Cyclingnews.com. The print portfolio has a monthly circulation of more than 100,000 with Cycling Plus delivering 14 years of continuous circulation growth, alongside Procycling and Mountain Biking UK.
The Craft sector has shown impressive growth in print in the past few years, with a track record of successful launches, including the recent Love Patchwork & Quilting. Simply Knitting is the largest audited print Craft title in the UK, while contemporary brand Mollie Makes has re-invigorated the general craft market, with the largest combined circulation, including digital editions. The deal also includes Future’s contemporary lifestyle brand The Simple Things. The brands will join Immediate’s own portfolio of titles including Cardmaking and Papercraft, Craftseller and The World of Cross Stitching.
Immediate CEO Tom Bureau said, “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Future. Immediate’s strategy is to create the leading special interest content and platform company, and these brands fit with our vision. We are developing our business around leading content brands, highly-engaged specialist communities, and multi-platform commercial models. Backed by Exponent Private Equity, we have a track record of investing in our brands, around content and platforms, and we are excited to be welcoming the new teams to our company.”
UK, London
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