• December 1, 2009

Nielsen Co. could divest of much if not all of its languishing business media publications in a deal that could be announced as soon as this week. According to news first reported by the Financial Times, Illyria, the media investment company run by Lachlan Murdoch, is making a joint bid with U.S.-based Pluribus Capital Management to acquire a group of trade magazines and conferences from Nielsen Co., including Adweek, Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter. Murdoch, the son of News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, and a member of the News Corp. board, sold shares of News Corp. stock last week for about $28 million, some of which was used to invest in an Australian radio broadcasting company. During Nielsen's recent third-quarter earnings call, CFO Brian West skirted analysts' questions about an imminent deal to sell its trade publications, which have been the greatest drag on its revenues and profits ever since the company was taken private by a group of private equity firms. West maintained that Nielsen might actually hold onto its most "iconic brands," including "THR, Billboard, etc.," as long as they are "very strong in their class" and have an "online capability" and a strong "trade show element" to them.