Immediate Media acquires BBC Good Food

September 3, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Immediate MediaImmediate Media Co is to acquire BBC Good Food, the UK’s biggest food media brand, from BBC Studios. The deal, Immediate’s first acquisition under the ownership of Hubert Burda Media, continues the company’s development as it looks to accelerate its growth through strategic M&A and product development. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Launched in 1989, BBC Good Food has the biggest cross-media reach of any UK magazine brand. bbcgoodfood.com is the UK’s largest food website, with 22 million visitors globally a month; BBC Good Food magazine, is the best-selling food magazine in the UK, with 1.3 million monthly readers; whilst the BBC Good Food show live events are the largest and most popular food and drink shows in the UK, with over 250,000 visitors a year.

Immediate Media CEO Tom Bureau said, “We are excited to be acquiring BBC Good Food. Not only is this the biggest brand in food publishing and media, but is absolutely on strategy for Immediate, given our focus on high value special interest communities, and cements our market leadership in the Food sector. We see significant opportunity in growing the brand, which we know well from working closely with BBC Studios. I’m looking forward to welcoming the hugely talented BBC Good Food team to Immediate, and we are committed to continue to produce the world-class content they are known for, whilst developing the brand across all platforms.”

BBC Good Food will form a new food business portfolio for Immediate. Headed up by BBC Good Food’s publishing director, Chris Kerwin, who takes up the role of food managing director, reporting to group managing director, Alison Forrestal.

Under the terms of the deal, the BBC Good Food brand name and the bbcgoodfood.com URL are licensed to Immediate by BBC Studios.

UK, London

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Exponent acquires Dennis Publishing

July 31, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Exponent PEExponent is to acquire Dennis Publishing, a multi-platform international media group which owns several award-winning brands including its flagship title, The Week.

Initial reports from Sky News suggested Exponent could pay between £150m and £200m, with The Week alone valued at around £100m, although the final amount was unconfirmed.

Dennis is a leading consumer media and e-commerce organisation, based in London and New York. Its portfolio consists of over 30 brands across four main areas of focus: Current Affairs, Technology, Automotive and Special Interest. In addition to The Week, it is home to several well-known brands including MoneyWeek, The Week Junior, BuyACar.co.uk, Auto Express, CarBuyer, Computer Active, Alphr.com, Cyclist and Viz, among others. Across all its brands it reaches over 50 million readers and sells over 2.5 million magazines every month.

Dennis is the first investment to be made from Exponent’s fourth fund, Exponent Private Equity Partners IV, LP.

Commenting on the acquisition, David McGovern of Exponent, said, “Dennis is a unique, innovative and dynamic publishing and e-commerce business. We believe that there is a significant opportunity to grow both its print and digital platforms, which will allow it to reach and engage even more readers and customers. Exponent is delighted to back James Tye and his team. We look forward to combining their expert knowledge with our own deep experience in consumer media and e-commerce to help further develop Dennis’ strong market positions and build on Felix Dennis’ legacy.”

Dick Pountain, on behalf of the Executors of the Felix Dennis estate, said, “The Executors of Felix Dennis’ estate are delighted to agree the sale of Dennis Publishing to Exponent. We see Exponent as excellent partners for Dennis; their track record in media is extremely strong and we have confidence in their ability to continue to grow the size and reputation of the company that Felix created almost 50 years ago.

The proceeds of this sale go to the Heart of England Forest (HoEF), a charity which Felix established during his lifetime. This endowment will enable the charity to create Felix’s ambitious vision – planting and maintaining the largest contiguous, broadleaf woodland for public enjoyment that the UK has seen in a century. The sale ensures not just a bright future for all involved but will create a lasting and important legacy for future generations.”

UK, London

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Mark Allen Group to acquire Rhinehold Group Assets

July 27, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Mark Allen GroupThe Mark Allen Group has won the bid to acquire all the assets in the Rhinegold Group. These assets include the International Piano, Choir & Organ, Classical Music, Teaching Drama, and Music Teacher publications. Rhinegold also publishes Opera Now. Through its events arm it owns and organises Music & Drama Education Expos in London and Manchester. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Rhinegold assets will add significantly to MAG’s strong position in music publishing, whose current portfolio includes the world’s leading classical music brand, Gramophone, as well as the premier magazines in their respective fields, Jazzwise and Songlines.

The parties are now entering into due diligence with the aim to complete the sale in October, after which the Rhinegold staff will be relocated from central London to MAG’s offices at St Jude’s Church in Herne Hill.

The origins of Rhinegold go back to 1977 with the launch of what is now Classical Music and the acquisition of Music Teacher. Since then the company has grown by acquisition and launch. Five years ago the first Music Education Expo was launched in London.

Mark Allen, the chairman of MAG, said, “I have been stalking Rhinegold for the past three years and I am delighted to say that my hope in acquiring these excellent assets looks like being realised. During this time, I have got to know, like and respect the current owner, Derek Smith, as well as several of the staff. There is a great deal of synergy with our own brands.”

Chief executive officer, Ben Allen added, “It is less than six years ago that we decided to enter the music market with our purchase of Jazzwise. This is a market in which we have done well and Rhinegold provides a golden opportunity for us to extend and enhance our dominant position. With increased leisure time likely to be a factor, music will loom even larger in people’s lives and we intend to be at the forefront of these trends.”

UK, London

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Mercator Media acquires Coastlink Network

July 23, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Mercator Media LtdMercator Media, the parent company of Boating Business, has acquired Coastlink Network Ltd, a neutral pan-European network dedicated to the promotion of short sea and feeder container shipping and how it forms part of a competitive supply chain. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Coastlink was established in 2004 by shipping professionals David Cheslin and Gavin Roser. Since then, Coastlink has hosted a series of 18 conferences and meetings to maximise the utilisation and potential of shipping networks; achieve an environmentally friendly modal shift to shipping; encourage more services linking ports in European waters; and develop collaboration between shippers, ports, shipping lines and freight organisations. The next Coastlink conference will be co-located with Seawork, from 11-13 June 2019, in Southampton, UK.

Mr Roser, currently ‘Ambassador at Large’ of not-for-profit think tank, The European Freight and Logistics Leaders’ Forum, will continue as a consultant to Coastlink to ensure its continued relevance.

Andrew Webster, CEO of Mercator Media, commented: “Mercator is a great new home for the Coastlink Network events. It fits very well with what we do and complements our magazines that overlap this marketplace; Port Strategy, The MotorShip and Maritime Journal as well as our events, GreenPort Congress, Propulsion & Future Fuels and the well-known commercial marine exhibition, Seawork.”

UK, Fareham & London

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Anthem Publishing acquires Women’s Running magazine

July 10, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

AnthemAnthem Publishing has acquired the multi-award-winning Women’s Running magazine from Wild Bunch Media. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Women’s Running launched in 2010, and was named Consumer Magazine of the Year 2011 and Consumer Media Brand of the Year 2015 at the PPA Independent Publisher Awards, as well as winning four other industry awards. It’s the UK’s only running title dedicated to helping women enjoy and improve their running. The deal includes the Women’s Running website which has over 90,000 unique users per month, as well as the Facebook community of some 220,000 followers. The purchase does not affect Men’s Running, which remains a Wild Bunch Media brand.

Anthem CEO Jon Bickley said, “We’re delighted to bring Women’s Running on board at Anthem to join our emerging group of women’s wellness brands. Women’s Running is a title I’ve admired for many years for its powerfully strong editorial proposition and the unique relationship it enjoys with its readers and advertisers. We can’t wait to immerse ourselves in this market and bring the same levels of investment and focus to it that have proved successful with our own titles such as Vegan Food & Living and Colouring Heaven.”

UK, Bath & London

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Penguin Random House India acquires Hind Pocket Books

June 30, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

PenguinPenguin Random House India has acquired Hind Pocket Books, one of the oldest and most respected Hindi language publishers in the country.

Established in 1958, Hind Pocket Books are widely considered as pioneers in publishing Hindi and Urdu paperbacks in India, and have an extensive list of critically acclaimed and commercially successful titles. They have published some of the most renowned authors from the subcontinent and across the world, including Amrita Pritam, Shivani, Acharya Chatursen, Gulshan Nanda, Narendra Kohli, Khushwant Singh, R K Narayan, Dr Radhakrishnan, Dominique Lapierre, Osho, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ruzbeh Bharucha, Wayne Dyer, to name a few, and their titles and authors have won several prestigious awards, including the Nobel Prize, the Sahitya Akademi Awards, and the Jnanpith Award.

Markus Dohle, Chef Executive Officer Penguin Random House said, “We are thrilled to welcome Hind Pocket Books to the Penguin Random House global family of publishers. Our operations in India have been a success story for us, and this acquisition represents our commitment to expand our local-language publishing as we continue to implement our global strategy of growing in our key markets such as India”.

India, Haryana & New Delhi

 

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Incisive Media acquires Open Door Media

June 28, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Incisive MediaInvestment Week’s parent Incisive Media has acquired Open Door Media Publishing Limited, publisher of Investment Europe and producer of market-leading conferences for fund selectors across Europe.

ODMP is an award-winning financial services media company that brings fund selectors and asset management companies together through its publications, digital products, and extensive portfolio of over twenty conferences across Europe. The company also publishes International Investment for the global adviser community and produces the International Fund and Product Awards, now in their nineteenth year.

Founded in 2013 by Nick Rapley (chairman) and Louise Hanna (director) through a management buyout of the Investment Europe brand from Incisive Media, ODMP has grown rapidly in five years to become a pre-eminent provider of business information and networking to the European asset management industry.

Jonathon Whiteley, CEO of Incisive Media, said, “We have known and worked with Nick, Louise and their team for many years and are excited that we are able to bring Investment Europe and International Investment back into the Incisive Media fold. This acquisition strengthens our asset management publishing and event properties and adds real depth and quality to our growing portfolio for the benefit of our readers, delegates and asset management clients.

UK, London

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Bauer Media acquires three homes titles from News Corp

June 5, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Bauer Media GroupThe Bauer Media Group has acquired magazines Inside Out and Country Style and Homes website HomeLife.com.au from News Corp. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The titles join Bauer’s existing suite of Homes magazines, which are Real Living, Australian House and Garden and Belle. These offerings are complemented by the publisher’s Homes to Love digital platform for this category.

The general manager for publishing at Bauer Media, Fiorella Di Santo, said, “We’re thrilled to bring Inside Out, Country Style and HomeLife.com.au to Bauer. Although we already have a strong position in the Homes category, this acquisition is a natural fit for us in terms of further deepening our category specialisation. We will now be part of the entire customer Homes journey, no matter what budget, geographical area or aesthetic.

Bauer CEO Paul Dykzeul said, “We are extremely pleased to announce this news as it’s a key milestone in delivering against our core strategic priorities, our strategic business growth and our commitment to invest in deep category specialisation. It is the first acquisition for Bauer in Australia since we bought beautyheaven in 2015, and it signifies our position of leadership as subject matter experts in this category.”

Germany, Hamburg & USA, New York, NY

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Kelsey Media acquires Stuff gadget magazine from Haymarket

May 31, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Kelsey MediaKelsey Media has acquired best-selling gadget magazine Stuff from the Haymarket Media Group. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Acquired by Haymarket in 1999, Stuff has kept its readers informed on global technological changes and has documented and explained major tech trends. In addition to the Stuff magazine, Stuff.TV filters the most important gadget news and happenings, keeping consumers in the loop with reviews, videos, how-tos, interviews and features.

Kelsey Media CEO Steve Wright sais, “Stuff was there at the start of the tech revolution and it’s inspired several generations of passionate tech-loving consumers since. I’m delighted that the Stuff team will be joining Kelsey and we’ll be working together to inspire the next generation of gadget fiends.”

UK, London & Cudham

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Media 10 acquires Pro Publishing Media & Events

April 11, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Media 10Media 10 has acquired Pro Publishing Media & Events Ltd, originally founded by Clara Perry in 2007. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition will bolsters Media 10’s offering within the kitchen and bathroom sector. Brands include luxury consumer magazine Utopia Kitchen & Bathroom, trade magazine Designer Kitchen & Bathroom, and the Designer Kitchen & Bathroom Awards event. Digital brands kb-eye.com and kb-network.co.uk also form part of the portfolio, as well as The d List, the Designer Guides and the Utopia Supplements.

All brands will continue to be headed up and managed by Perry under a directorship role of the newly formed kitchen and bathroom division at Media 10 Ltd.

Media 10 CEO Lee Newton said, “With over a million people visiting our events each year from both the trade and consumer markets, we are delighted to be able to join forces with Clara and her excellent team; this partnership puts us in a unprecedented position where all products can take advantage of each other’s strengths to continue to build strong brands across all media platforms within the kitchen and bathroom industry.”

UK, Loughton & Colchester

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