RDG Media Group, Penske Media, and Ziff Davis acquire new assets in media companies
We report on the acquisitions of media companies when they happen because they can mean significant changes for the industry. Today we have three recent acquisitions to share.
We begin with RGD Media and its recent acquisition. Folio: reports, “Former BNP Media publisher Randy Green has acquired a handful of B2B publications from Iowa-based Industry Marketing Solutions and its founder, Steve Scanlan, the two parties announced this week.”
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“Included in the sale are five ad-supported print and digital titles — such as Plastics Hotline and Material Handling Solutions, among others — with each brand’s staff now reporting to Green, who will serve as publisher in addition to president of RDG Media, a new company set up to house the publications.”
The article continues with a look at Randy Green’s experience. “Prior to founding the new company, Green had spent the last 22+ years at BNP Media, joining as a classified advertising manager in 1994 before rising through the ranks to group publisher of ISHN, R&R, Casino Journal, Hotel F&B, and various titles within BNP’s food/beverage/packaging group, like Brand Packaging and Flexible Packaging, before stepping down earlier this month.”
Our next story on media companies visits Penske Media and its acquisition of a new fashion magazine. MediaPost reports, “Penske Media has acquired trade publication Sourcing Journal to beef up the fashion and retail business coverage of its subsidiary Fairchild Media, which it bought in 2014 from Condé Nast, and includes the WWD, FN, M and Beauty Inc. brands.”
The article continues with a look at Sourcing Journal and its direction going forward. “Sourcing Journal launched in 2009 by cofounders Edward Hertzman and Munir Mashooqullah to cover the sourcing and manufacturing industries of retail and textiles. It focuses on investigative journalism, breaking news, global market analysis and white papers. Based in New York, Sourcing Journal has more than 70,000 readers.”
“Under Penske Media’s ownership, Sourcing Journal will remain an independent publication. Sourcing Journal will also leverage the infrastructure of Fairchild Live events business to expand its own global offerings.”
Our last story of the day looks at the acquisition of Mashable by Ziff Davis at a potentially discounted rate. Folio: reports, “Sometimes it’s better to buy than build. That’s the real takeaway from Ziff Davis acquiring Mashable. A deal that’s reportedly worth $50 million.”
“Just last year Time Warner injected $15 million into Mashable, which raised its valuation to $250 million. Around that time the company also took a new direction and sort of abandoned its mission to deliver topical content that was in sync with the social media consciousness. That, of course, included a clichéd “pivot to video” and a complete overhaul of staff. Given the sale price today, it wasn’t a good move. And perhaps the influence of its investors wasn’t such a good thing either. But that’s merely speculation.”
The article continues with the benefits Ziff receives from this deal. “Still, this is all great news for Ziff, and its parent company J2 Media, who just bought a site with scale and brand equity for a relative song. Launching something similar would have required time, money and additional resources which could prove to be a fruitless risk. It also fits into Ziff’s portfolio well, a company that has a large tech audience, which likely means it already has plenty of eager partners who will gladly buy Mashable inventory.”
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