ACP Magazines has bought Emap Australia for $94m, handing the PBL Media-owned company leading titles such as Zoo Weekly, FHM, New Woman and Empire.
Approval for the merger has still not been given by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. ACP claims to have a 48% share of the magazine advertising and copy sales market, with 44% of readership. Emap holds a 4% share in both categories, meaning the deal would push ACP’s control of the market over 50%. A decision by the ACCC is not expected until 27 September. ACP rival Pacific Magazines has also looked at buying Emap.
Emap’s parent company in the UK will receive licence revenues from Zoo, FHM, Empire, Mother & Baby and Pregnancy & Birth. In the year to 31 March, Emap had revenues of $66m and an operating profit of $2m.
The purchase comes after it announced a strategic review of its operations in May after results for the global group plummeted by 13% to $465m.
PBL Media CEO Ian Law said the acquisition of Emap was a complementary fit with its existing spread of titles.
“We believe the Emap portfolio is the one that fits best with our business – the titles it produces here are leaders in their segments and Emap in the UK has a history of good publishing initiatives that will be available to us in the future.
“We are confident that with synergies and operational improvements we will achieve a strong return on the Emap investment and it will bolster our overall portfolio.”
Carrie Barker, Emap Australia managing director launched the review following a turbulent year for the British media giant. It sold its Emap France business to Italian operator Mondadori, and saw the closure of its FHM US edition. A major restructure of the UK business was launched and Emap group CEO Tom Moloney quit after 25 years with the company.
Barker arrived to head up Emap Australia in January this year and maintained that Emap was still committed to the Australian operation.
“The international strategy of Emap is high on the agenda and Emap is committed to Australia,” she told B&T earlier this year. “We are growing ahead of the UK. It is obviously a situation I discussed before I came out.
“The view is that the Australian operation is far leaner than the UK, we don’t feel there are the opportunities to make cost cuts here as there were in the UK,” she said.
Since taking over Barker closed Smash Hits after more than 20 years of publishing as well as a skateboarding title.
ACP made no announcement on Barker’s future role with the company or whether redundancies would take place as a result of the purchase. Barker was unavailable for comment.
Paul Keenan, chief executive of Emap Consumer Media said: “Over the last ten years, and through a total launch and acquisition investment of some $29m, we have grown Emap Australia into a leading player in its market. The outcome of this transaction reflects the quality of the brands and activities we have built in Australia and the depth of creative talent we have developed there. We look forward to a long term partnership with ACP Magazines on these titles and future publishing initiatives.”
