Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the R&R assets will be integrated into VNU's Billboard Music Group division, publisher of music trade bible Billboard. Long-term R&R Publisher Erica Farber will remain in that role, the company said.
The deal sends a strong signal that, contrary to speculation that VNU might go into play following its acquisition by private equity consortium Valcon, it is looking to buy.
"This acquisition is in line with VNU's strategy to further strengthen its services to the radio and record industries," stated Michael Marchesano, president-CEO of VNU's Business Media and Nielsen Entertainment. He noted that in addition to Billboard, R&R complements VNU's Nielsen BDS and Nielsen SoundScan units.
advertisement
advertisement
VNU, which publishes other trade magazines and is the world's biggest media and marketing research company, is in the process of going private, and according to at least one ardent suitor, will not go into play for at least 18 months.
Frank Maggio, the Florida real estate tycoon and owner of TV ratings startup erinMedia, recently disclosed that Valcon's acquisition of VNU includes an 18-month "no-shop" clause precluding the sale of any significant asset for that period.
Maggio, who recently formed a rival company dubbed Maggio Media Research, had been eying an acquisition of Nielsen Media Research and potentially other VNU media research assets. He recently hired Len Finelli, a former top executive at VNU, to head Maggio Media Research and is in the process of courting the cable industry to become a financial partner in erinMedia, a research system predicated on gaining access to digital set-top data from cable and satellite operators.
Maggio's push into the digital set-top ratings market comes as the U.S. operations of U.K.-based TNS is making a similar drive.