6 February 2012
UBM plc disposes of UK titles for £10.0m (1)
UBM plc today announces that it has sold its UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios - including the Farmers Guardian and Pulse titles - to the founders of Briefing Media Ltd for a total cash consideration of £10.0m (1). The new business will be known as Briefing Media Group and is led by the experienced management team of Neil Thackray and Rory Brown. It is funded by GCP Capital Partners, a mid-market private equity fund.
The agriculture portfolio - comprising the Farmers Guardian and Dairy Farmer titles and their associated online offerings - is based primarily in Prestonand employs 57 staff. The London-based general practitioner portfolio employs 33 staff and includes the Pulse and Practical Commissioning magazines and their digital and event products NAPC, the Mental Health Forum, Pulse Seminars, as well as Pulse Learning. Subject to completion of two separate consultation processes under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, the transaction is expected to close in the next four to six weeks. In total, these assets generated revenues of £12.1m in 2011.
UBM has retained ownership of the Cropworld conference and the Chemist & Druggist magazine and data product portfolio.
In a separate transaction, UBM plc has also sold its Daltons business to Innovare Media Limited. Daltons provides a web-based marketplace for the sale and purchase of UK small and medium enterprises.
David Levin, CEO, UBM plc said:
"I am very pleased we have passed these successful UK magazine titles to a new management team who will provide the focused leadership and investment to ensure their continued success. I would like to thank our teams in Preston and in London for their contribution to UBM over the years and wish them and their new management teams well for the future."
"These transactions, together with the previous sales of France Presse, Consultant and other assets bring the total gross consideration from disposals announced since 1 January 2011 to more than £25m. These transactions also mark a further significant step in the transformation of UBM into a set of Events and other B2B marketing, communications, and data services businesses serving attractive global communities across a variety of media."
- Ends -
(1) subject to working capital adjustment at completion
Contacts
Media
Peter Bancroft Director of Communications
E-mail communications@ubm.com
Direct telephone +44 20 7921 5961
Chris Barrie Citigate Dewe Rogerson
E-mail chris.barrie@citigatedr.co.uk
Direct telephone +44 20 7282 2943
Mobile +44 796 872 72 89
Analysts/Investors
James O'Shaughnessy Investor Relations Manager
Email investorrelations@ubm.com
Direct telephone +44 20 7921 5095
Notes to Editors
1. About UBM plcUBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. We focus on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders around the world. Our 6,000 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.
For more information, go to www.ubm.com
2. About Briefing Media
Briefing Media is a U.K. based business media company. The company was established in 2010 by Neil Thackray and Rory Brown with the aim of establishing a range of media assets across a number of key vertical markets. The company's launch product is TheMediaBriefing, a specialist website examining the evolution of global media markets. The site combines intelligent semantic curation of news alongside expert opinion and analysis. Briefing Media has organised a series of conferences, published exclusive research and will be hosting The British Media Awards in April 2012. Additional sites are in the pipeline.
For more information, go to www.TheMediaBriefing.com
3. About GCP Capital Partners
GCP Capital Partners LLP ("GCP") was founded in 2007 and currently manages a dedicated private equity fund of £191 million. GCP focuses on equity investments in a wide range of sectors and generally makes controlling or influential minority investments of up to £30 million. GCP Capital Partners was formed as the successor to Greenhill Capital Partners, the merchant banking business of Greenhill & Co., Inc. (NYSE: GHL), which was founded in 2000.
Full details can be found at: http://www.gcpcapital.com/eu-home