Bauer tipped to take Emap business
H Bauer, the publisher of Take A Break and TV Choice, is tipped to be the shock preferred bidder for Emap’s consumer magazine and radio division within the next 24 hours.
Bauer, the mass-circulation magazine powerhouse headquartered in Germany, is said to have submitted a late bid for the business on Monday.
Emap’s board met yesterday to consider bids on the table. A number of sources close to the review have told mad.co.uk that Bauer has emerged as a strong, preferred bidder, offering £700 million for the consumer magazines division and some £500 million for its radio business.
Earlier today, National Magazines chief executive Duncan Edwards told staff the Hearst-owned company had not been successful in its bid for the consumer titles, despite offering to buy the entire stable.
Bauer is a privately-owned company with the ability to move decisively if need be. No one from Bauer was available for comment.
Mad.co.uk can reveal that private equity firms Texas Pacific Group are also out of the running. Other contenders for the business are believed to be investors Apollo, DLJ Merchant banking and US group Quadrangle.
Elsewhere, Emap’s business-to-business division, which includes titles Broadcast, Nursing Times and Screen International, has attracted bids from Apax Partners with an equity contribution from Guardian Media Group, Candover, Cinven, Permira and Providence Equity Partners.
Finding a preferred bidder for the b2b business is said to be a more complex affair, and the decision may be delayed.
If Bauer walks away with the radio business it will be a massive upset for the market. Some of the radio industry’s biggest heavyweights had shown an interest in the Kiss and Magic assets, including Global Radio, GCap and a consortium led by former Chrysalis radio CEO Phil Riley.
Emap announced a strategic review of the business earlier this year following a string of profit warnings. The break-up of the group could raise up to £2.5 billion.
To read Arif Durrani 's blog on this story or to have your say, go to madcomments.co.uk
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