Haynes Publishing, the 60-year-old listed UK company best known for producing car maintenance manuals, is being acquired by the France-based B2B group Infopro Digital. The UK publisher had been put up for sale in 2019 after the death of its founder. The £114.5m price (9 x 2018 EBITDA) was a juicy 62% premium to last…
Spotify (and Murdoch) prepare for radio wars
Music streamer Spotify is buying podcaster The Ringer from its sports writer founder Bill Simmons, for $196m in cash and an earnout. Bloomberg speculated that the maximum payment may reach $250m. The Ringer produces over 30 podcasts, particularly around sports and culture. Its output includes The Bill Simmons Sports Podcast, The Rewatchables and after-show podcasts…
RSA Conference for sale?
The world’s cyber security industry crowds into San Francisco’s Moscone Center next week for its annual convention. There’s plenty to talk about, of course. But this year, mingling with the experts will be rival exhibitions executives assessing what the RSA Conference (RSAC) will be worth when/if it comes up for sale. The conference is considered…
KHL invests in recruitment
KHL Media, the privately-owned UK construction media specialist, has acquired 40% of recruitment consultant Blu Coal. The recruiter, which will be renamed Lawsons Recruitment (after founder and majority shareholder Nick Lawson), specialises in contract, permanent and executive jobs in the international construction market. KHL, which was established in 1989, claims to be a world leader…
Hachette buys Disney books
Hachette Book Group (HBG) has acquired over 1,000 children’s titles from the Disney Book Group, in the US, in a move which more than doubles its backlist. They will be published under HBG’s Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (LBYR) imprint. HBG has already been handling sales and distribution for the titles for some years….
ICG buys Pageant Media
Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) has acquired control of UK-based Pageant Media in a deal said to value the financial services publisher at almost £145m – a historic EBITDA multiple of 15. The company, which claims more than 2,500 institutional clients including 94 of the world’s 100 largest asset managers, was 56% owned by CEO Charlie…
CoStar buys RentPath
CoStar Group, of the US, which operates property digitals, has acquired RentPath (property rentals) for $58m out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Atlanta-based, 30-year-old RentPath’s brands include Rent.com and ApartmentGuide.com which last year generated over 21m monthly uniques – up from almost 9m monthly unique visitors on 2019. The deal is subject to bankruptcy court…
UK news agency goes global
PA Media Group, the UK news and information company formerly known as the Press Association, has acquired the 21-year-old, privately-owned Alamy photo library for a price believed to be almost £35m, equivalent to 8 x EBITDA. Alamy has an archive of almost 200m images and videos, sourced from a network of 100k photographers and 650…
Bonnier to sell US mags
The Wall Street Journal has reported that the $110m-revenue Bonnier Corp, the US subsidiary of the Swedish family-owned media group, is exploring the “possible sale” of most of its 14 American special interest magazines including Boating, Sailing World, Popular Science, Saveur, Field & Stream, and Outdoor Life. The company also operates 10 digital-only brands including…
Diversified buys UK fish show
Diversified Communications, the acquisitive US-owned B2B publishing and events company, has acquired Aquaculture UK, the biennial fish farming exhibition in Scotland, which next takes place in May this year. The last event, in 2018, claimed 2,400 visitors and 190 exhibitors. The exhibition is being sold by Benchmark Holdings Plc, a £240m UK listed science-based company…
