Bauer Media is selling its magazine business to Mercury Capital.
Private equity group Mercury will acquire all of Bauer Media Australia’s print and digital assets.
Commercial terms have not been released. The German family company Bauer paid $525 million in 2012 for what was then ACP. Some reports but the latest sale price as low as $50 million.
The deal includes Women’s Entertainment & Lifestyle; Fashion, Beauty & Health; Homes; Food; Motoring & Trader lifestyle categories.
The agreement also includes those brands recently acquired by Bauer from Pacific Magazines and Bauer’s New Zealand mastheads.
Veit Dengler, Bauer Media COO, says the company remains committed to magazine publishing.
"This decision supports our strategy to invest in our market leading brands where we believe we are best placed to do so,” he says.
“We have been proud to be the custodian of these iconic brands in Australia. I would like to thank our talented teams for their commitment and the contribution they have made to Bauer Media. I wish them well for the future.”
The sale is subject to relevant regulatory approvals in Australia, with completion expected by the end of July.
Bauer, like most of the media industry, has been hit by a decline in advertising revenue as businesses pull back during the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
The publisher has been shedding jobs and temporarily suspending the print publication of some titles as the publisher restructures parts of its business.
New Zealand operations were shut in April due to the severe economic impact of COVID-19.
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