The Bookseller.com

2nd December 2008

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Reed delays magazine sell-off

26.06.08

Reed Elsevier has delayed the posting of the information memorandum on its Reed Business Information (RBI) division because it is still finalising its financing package, sources close to the situation told the FT's dealReporter.

Reed Elsevier is hoping to encourage a sale of the whole of RBI, which includes magazines such as Publishers Weekly and Variety, by offering a financing package to prospective buyers, it is also offering financing packages for parts of the business, one source said. While a formal financing mandate has yet to be granted, the banks that have expressed interest are understood to include Lloyds TSB, JPMorgan, UBS, BNP Paribas and Bank of Ireland.

The Times notes that the  group of banks that funded the £1.26bn acquisition of Emap’s business-to-business arm by Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group (GMG) have had difficulty passing on some of their lending, in what may have serious implications for future media deals. Although the failure of a recent syndication round will have little effect on the Emap business, it could dampen banks’ enthusiasm for financing future deals in the media sector – particularly companies that are partly or fully reliant on an advertiser-funded model. One such example is Reed Elsevier, which recently said that it would sell its business-to-business magazines arm.

 

 

FT

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