By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York Published: July 14 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 14 2009 03:00 McGraw-Hill might reap only a nominal $1 by selling Business Week, according to people familiar with the 80-year-old financial magazine's record of losses. The publisher has appointed Evercore, a boutique investment bank, to sell the title after deciding it was non-core to a group that owns the Standard & Poor's rating agency and an educational publisher, two people familiar with the decision said. McGraw-Hill said it was "exploring strategic options" for Business Week and Evercore did not return calls, but auctioning a mainly print business exposed to financial advertisers during a recession will be challenging. Business Week's advertising revenues fell by a third to $77.8m in the first half of 2009, according to the Publishers' Information Bureau. The magazine claims a circulation of 936,000 copies and 4.8m readers. Industry members and bankers said Time Warner's Time Inc, publisher of Fortune, or Forbes would be unlikely to bid for a rival facing similar challenges to themselves. Condé Nast closed Portfolio , a glossy business title, in April. Reed Phillips, managing partner of DeSilva & Phillips, a media investment bank, said more probable buyers included OpenGate Capital, which bought TV Guide; Platinum Equity, new owner of the San Diego Union Tribune; or Mansueto Ventures, publisher of FastCompany. Platinum and OpenGate would not comment and Mansueto did not return calls. However, the $1 headline price for which OpenGate bought TV Guide "is probably the kind of deal that would be obtainable for Business Week", Mr Phillips said. "I think they'll end up giving it away," another banker stressed, saying its losses were in the tens of millions of dollars. Among groups investing in print media, bankers pointed to Bloomberg, with plans to expand Bloomberg Markets, its financial magazine, and Bonnier, the acquisitive Sweden publisher. Bloomberg would not comment, but has little record of making acquisitions. Bonnier said it favoured niche acquisitions. News Corp, owner of the Wall Street Journal and Barron's, said it was not interested. The news came as Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, announced plans for examiners to focus on credit rating agencies such as S&P and Moody's. For the full story on agency regulation: www.ft.com/financialsMcGraw-Hill might 'give away' Business Week for nominal $1
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Posts
