It is seven years since Bauer entered Australia and New Zealand, with the acquisition of long-time market leader ACP Magazines from CVC private equity. It was a euphoric 2012 deal for Yvonne Bauer who, just two years before, had taken control of the family-owned, Hamburg-based publisher. It was paying “just” A$525m, less than one-third of…
Our 19 best reads in 2019
It has been the best 12 months so far for Flashes & Flames, as measured by our rising weekly readership. Here are our 19 best-read pieces of 2019, with some updated predictions and links to the posts – in case you missed them. Or you may just want a bit of holiday re-reading during our…
Mark Allen buys Farmers Weekly
Mark Allen Group (MAG), the UK’s fastest growing B2B publisher, is acquiring the 85-year-old Farmers Weekly from Reed Business Information (RBI) for a price believed to be some £14-15m. The deal is expected to complete during January. The B2B brand is believed to have revenues of some £13m, a paid circulation of 42k, and a…
Hyve buys US retail shows
UK-based exhibitions organiser Hyve Group plc has bought two US trade shows Shoptalk and Groceryshop for $145m (£110.8m). The events this year generated a total $35.8m revenue and $12.2m EBITA. They had over 11.500 attendees from over 50 countries, and 880 exhibitors. The deal is being funded by the issue of equity to the vendor…
Pearson exits PRH books
German publishing house Bertelsmann is to complete the acquisition of Penguin Random House (PRH) by buying the remaining 25% stake from Pearson for £530m. Owner Pearson also gave a profits warning due to weak academic book sales in the US and announced the retirement of chief executive John Fallon. Bertelsmann chief executive Thomas Rabe described…
Scout24 to be sold
US investor Hellman & Friedman is thought to be close to buying the car trading activities of Germany’s online classifieds company Scout24. The deal, not yet finalised, is thought to be worth over €2.5bn with Permira and Apax Partners also participating in the deal. Scout24 has come under pressure from the activist investor company Elliott which…
Tech co buys Girlboss
Attention Capital, a new US-based technology investor, is to acquire Girlboss, a women’s media company which connects millennial women through its professional digital network, podcasts and events. The digital network functions as a women-only LinkedIn equivalent, while its events include the Girlboss Rally. Post-acquisition, the new owner intends to invest in a mobile app and…
CRETech events go global
CRETech, US real estate tech and conference company, which is owned by The News Funnel, has announced the acquisition of real estate event organiser FUTURE PropTech, of London, claimed to be Europe’s largest events organiser in real estate tech. CRETech hosts news, directories and research on its digital platform and organises events for real estate…
What Bloomberg teaches us
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, is spending millions of dollars to campaign for the presidency of the United States. The pitch helps to illuminate one of the world’s most successful media companies over the last 35 years. Bloomberg launched his eponymous financial data and media company in 1981 with a $10m…
DPG buys out Sanoma
DPG Media will become the largest Dutch magazine publisher as a result of an agreed deal to buy Sanoma’s publishing interests in the Netherlands and Belgium for €460m. The Finland-based Sanoma has long been the largest Dutch publisher of magazines, with brands including Libelle, Margriet, Donald Duck, vtwonen and Veronica, serving more than 1m subscribers….
