The run-off between two bidders for Dennis, UK-based publisher of The Week, Viz, AutoExpress, Cyclist, Money Week, Computer Active, EVO, and the Buy-a-Car e-commerce platform is expected to be between two private equity companies. A late bid from the Daily Mail group only for The Week is believed to have prompted Livingstone, handling the sale, to explore whether it could increase the total proceeds by accepting complementary bids from two publishers (the Daily Mail for The Week in the UK and US, and Burda for the rest). But it is now believed that private equity firms will offer more, perhaps up to £150m, for the whole company. Insiders also believe that a private equity deal would be most likely to involve the current Dennis management in a buy-out whereas a “trade” buyer is more likely to integrate the Dennis media into its existing management structure – and scrap some jobs. It is also thought likely that the trustees of the late Felix Dennis’s Heart of England Forest charity, who are selling the company, would want to retain some level of shareholding so they could benefit from future success. The sale is expected to be agreed by the end of July.
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Private equity to win Dennis
