Primedia
| Type | Private Ownership |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Norcross, GA, United States |
| Website | http://www.primedia.com |
PRIMEDIA Inc. is privately held American media company fully owned by TPG Capital.
Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products. Their Apartment Guide, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and New Home Guide brands are their most recognizable, but additional properties such as RentRentar.com and RentalHouses.com also exist.
Organized in 1989 as K-III Communications Corporation by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the company made a series of acquisitions of niche publications under Bill Reilly's leadership in the 1990s. The firm went public in 1995, selling stock 15 million shares at approximately $12 per share, in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares.[1] The firm adopted the Primedia name as of November 18, 1997 to more clearly focus on its core business.[2] Primedia sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included Guns and Ammo and Fly Fisherman.[3] In 2007 Primedia sold its Enthusiast Media division to Source Interlink in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including Motor Trend and Soap Opera Digest and 90 consumer web sites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit.[4]
In 2011, private equity firm TPG Capital bought Primedia for $525 million.[5]
Contents |
[edit] Timeline
- 1989 - Founded as K-III Communications, a new venture financed by the investment group Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co.
- 1989 - Purchased Intertec Publishing
- 1989 - Purchased Macmillan book clubs, renamed Newbridge Communications
- 1990 - Purchased business publications of Andrews Communications
- 1990 - Acquired Readers Garden, operator of special interest book clubs
- 1990 - Acquired Weekly Reader and Funk & Wagnalls from Marshall Field 5th
- 1991 - Purchased 9 magazines from News Corporation for $600 million.
- 1992 - Acquired medical publisher Krames
- 1993 - Acquired three magazines from Wiesner
- 1993 - Acquired World Almanac from Scripps
- 1994 - Acquired Stagebill
- 1994 - Acquired Katharine Gibbs
- 1994 - Acquired Haas Publishing, now Consumer Source Inc.
- 1995 - Went public
- 1995 - Acquired Chicago from Landmark Communications
- 1996 - Acquired 14 publications from Cahners Consumer Magazines
- 1996 - Acquired Pro Football Weekly
- 1997 - Acquired Intellichoice
- 1997 - Sold Krames to Times Mirror
- 1997 - New Woman sold to Rodale
- 1997 - Katharine Gibbs sold to Career Education Corporation
- 1997 - Changed name to PRIMEDIA Inc.
- 1998 - Daily Racing Form sold to private investors
- 1998 - Stagebill sold to Fred B. Tarter
- 1998 - Newbridge Communications sold to Doubleday Direct
- 1998 - Acquired Sterling/MacFadden's teen magazines and teen publisher Laufer Publishing
- 1999 - Primedia's education unit (Weekly Reader, World Almanac) sold to Ripplewood Holdings
- 1999 - Acquired Multimedia Publishing
- 2000 - Acquired About.com
- 2001 - Purchased EMAP's US magazines (formerly Petersen Publishing)
- 2002 - Modern Bride sold to Condé Nast Publications
- 2002 - Pro Football Weekly sold to Arkush family
- 2002 - Chicago sold to Tribune Company
- 2002 - American Baby sold to Meredith Corporation
- 2003 - Seventeen sold to Hearst Corporation
- 2003 - New York sold to Bruce Wasserstein
- 2003 - Tiger Beat and Bop sold to Laufer Media
- 2005 - About.com sold to The New York Times Company
- 2005 - Sold business information segment (ex-Intertec[6]) to private investors Wasserstein & Co. (later merged with Penton Media)
- 2006 - Sold Crafts Group to Sandler Capital Management and Outdoor Group to InterMedia Partners
- 2007 - Sold Enthusiast Media group (containing the vast majority of PRIMEDIA's magazines) to Source Interlink, controlled by Ronald Burkle, for $1.2 billion.[7]
- 2007 - Sold Channel One News to Alloy Media and Marketing
- 2008 - Sold South Florida Auto Guide and Wisconsin Auto Guide to TargetMedia Partners; closes Atlanta Auto Guide
- 2009 - Closes Today's Custom Home Magazine]
- 2011 - TPG Capital acquires company
[edit] Former Major PRIMEDIA Titles (magazines are now part of Source Interlink)
- 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine
- Automobile Magazine
- Car Craft
- Dirt Rider
- Four Wheeler
- Home Theater
- Hot Bike
- Hot Rod Magazine
- JP Magazine
- Lowrider Magazine
- Mini Truckin Magazine
- Modified Magazine
- Mopar Muscle Magazine
- Motorcyclist
- Motor Trend
- Mustang Monthly
- Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off Road
- Power & Motoryacht
- Project car tuner magazine
- Sail Magazine
- SLAM Magazine
- Soap Opera Digest
- Soap Opera Weekly
- Sport Compact Car
- Stereophile
- Super Street
- Truckin Magazine
- Truck Trend
- Sport Truck
as well as Automotive.com, Intellichoice.com, [1][2], [3], [4] web sites
[edit] PRIMEDIA Equestrian Group
[edit] PRIMEDIA Action Sports Group
- Bike Magazine
- Bodyboarding Magazine
- Canoe & Kayak Magazine
- Powder Magazine
- Skateboarder Magazine
- Slam Magazine
- Snowboarder Magazine
- Surfer
- Surfing Magazine
[edit] References
- ^ via Reuters. "K-III's Initial Stock Offering", The New York Times, October 7, 1995. Accessed October 23, 2008.
- ^ Staff. "K-III's New Name To Be 'Primedia'", The New York Times, November 1, 1997. Accessed October 23, 2008.
- ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross. "InterMedia to Buy Primedia’s Outdoor Magazines", The New York Times, December 7, 2006. Accessed October 23, 2008.
- ^ via Reuters. "Magazine Publisher Is Selling Special-Interest Unit for $1.15 Billion", The New York Times, May 15, 2007. Accessed October 23, 2008.
- ^ Peter Lattman (May 16, 2011). "After 22 Years — 22 Years! — K.K.R. Is Exiting Primedia". The New York Times. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/after-22-years-22-years-k-k-r-is-exiting-primedia/. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
- ^ "Primedia Business Information Profile". Media Owners. http://www.mediaowners.com/company/primediabusiness.html. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
- ^ "Burkle's Source Agrees to Buy PRIMEDIA Magazine Group". http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arWEU5f1k5Ow&refer=home.