Bloomberg Buys BusinessWeek from US Publisher McGraw Hill
The US publisher McGraw Hill is to sell its popular business magazine BusinessWeek to Bloomberg.
The acquisition will strengthen Bloomberg’s online, television and mobile products, Bloomberg Chairman Peter Grauer said in a statement yesterday.
“BusinessWeek will be a powerful addition to our portfolio of leading news and information services,” he added.
McGraw-Hill said the transaction would enable it to continue focusing resources on building the size, scale and global presence of its brands.
Details of the deal were not disclosed. However, BusinessWeek cites “knowledgeable sources” in its story on the deal, saying that Bloomberg’s cash offer is in the US$2m to the US$5m range and that it has agreed to assume liabilities, including potential severance payments.
“It remains to be seen how much of the magazine’s 400-plus staff Bloomberg plans to cut, but reports of a planned scorched earth campaign are overblown, say sources,” BusinessWeek reports.
The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2009.
The purchase includes the print magazine and the BusinessWeek.com website.