Vivendi May Sell Trade Publishing Unit
French media giant Vivendi Universal said Tuesday it was in exclusive talks to sell its trade publishing activities which include magazines about factories, farming and medicine to British investment group Cinven for about $1.8 billion.
Vivendi said it wants to reduce its exposure to swings in advertising revenue.
The company said it hopes to sign an agreement with Cinven in the coming days and expects to complete the deal by Oct. 30. In the meantime, Vivendi and Cinven are bound by a two-month exclusivity agreement.
Vivendi had indicated plans to sell its Vivendi Universal Publishing unit several weeks ago in a move partly designed to finance its nearly $2 billion purchase of U.S. textbook publishing house Houghton Mifflin.
The unit's publications include French-language trade magazines such as Usine Nouvelle, about factories, and France Agricole, which focuses on farming, as well as medical publications such as Le Quotidien du Medecin.
Vivendi said it hoped to focus more on general interest publications and reduce its exposure to publishing businesses that rely on advertising.
Vivendi said it received several bids for the unit, and Cinven's was the highest. The French company said the management of its trade press unit backed Cinven's bid.
AP
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Google+ Needs Android To Climb Out Of Experimental Phase May 20, 9:24 p.m.
Marketers continue to view Google+ as a fledgling network requiring experimentation, although the company released a ... -
AOL, Support.Com Settle Scareware Lawsuit For $8.5 Million May 20, 5:20 p.m.
Web company AOL and software vendor Support.com will pay $8.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought ... -
Gmail Hangouts Disable Google Voice May 20, 3:23 p.m.
Google's new version of Hangouts for Gmail eliminates Google Voice features. The move is frustrating heavy ... -
Digital Boost: Ziff Davis Acquires NetShelter May 20, 3:19 p.m.
Ziff Davis on Monday announced the acquisition of content network NetShelter from ad platform inPowered. Financial ... -
LikeableAds.com Launches, Focus on Social Media Ads May 20, 3:04 p.m.
To keep up with growing demand from Madison Avenue, the social marketing consultants at Likeable Media ... -
Yahoo To Ramp 'Native' Ads On Tumblr May 20, 1:37 p.m.
With its $1.1 billion acquisition of Tumblr, Yahoo on Monday made clear it plans to allow ... -
Gigya Improves Marketing, Adds 21 Social, Tech Partners May 20, 9:15 a.m.
Social services startup Gigya on Monday is expected to announce the addition of 21 social and ... -
Health/Wellness Shop Diversifies Into Happiness, Launches Platform To Fuel It May 20, 9:06 a.m.
The CementBloc, a spunky New York-based agency specializing in health and wellness marketing, is diversifying into ... -
Yahoo To Buy Tumblr For $1.1 Billion May 19, 7:26 p.m.
The Yahoo board has agreed to acquire popular blogging site Tumblr for $1.1 billion in cash, ... -
Weather.com Develops Real-Time Data Ad Targeting May 17, 5:12 p.m.
Weather.com has begun using audience segmentation data from Lotame to develop real-time targeting services based on ...
Be the first to comment on "Vivendi May Sell Trade Publishing Unit"
Leave a Comment