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Gruner & Jahr Said to Sell 2 Business Magazines:
Gruner & Jahr agreed to sell its two American business magazines, Inc. and Fast Company, for about $35 million.
Gruner & Jahr bought both magazines five years ago for $550 million - Inc. from Bernard Goldhirsch for $200 million and Fast Company from Mortimer Zuckerman for $350 million.The deal follows last month's sale of Gruner & Jahr's women's magazines - Family Circle, Parents, Child and Fitness - to the Meredith Corporation for $350 million. With the sales, the company, troubled by a two-year-old circulation scandal, is effectively rid of its American magazines, although it retains ownership of a magazine printing company.
As part of last month's deal, if Gruner & Jahr had not been able to sell Inc. and Fast Company by June 30, the two titles would have gone to Meredith.Initially, about 20 buyers expressed interest in Inc. and Fast Company. The list was eventually narrowed to six: Mr. Mansueto, founder of Morningstar, the investment research firm; The Economist; Time Inc.; American City Business Journal, owned by the Newhouse family and based in Charlotte, N.C.; Alta Communications, a venture capital firm in Boston; and Abry Partners, an equity firm also based in Boston and representing managers from Gruner & Jahr.
As of last night, only Mr. Mansueto and The Economist were still in the hunt. The final decision, said the person close to the sale, hinged on Mr. Mansueto's desire to keep the magazines afloat, saving about 100 jobs.
Not the best investment for G+J, was it?
