Chinese investors take over tech-focused IDG

THE Chinese are coming to publishing. International Data Group, the company founded by the late billionaire Pat McGovern, has sold the majority stake to China Oceanwide Holdings.

Following McGovern’s death in 2014, the company was controlled by its investment arm, IDG Capital, which counts Accel Partners and Breyer Capital as limited partners.

It generated proceeds for the McGovern Foundation on brain cancer research.

China Oceanwide is headed by billionaire Lu Zhiqiang. At one point, IDG Capital and Oceanwide were bidding against each other for the publisher.

But at the suggestion of Goldman Sachs, which represented IDG, the two decided to do a combined bid.

Hugo Shong, the IDG Capital boss and a longtime IDG executive and protégé of McGovern, is expected to be named chairman of the new joint venture, sources tell Media Ink.

Under McGovern, the publisher of PCWorld, Macworld and CIO Magazine expanded to publish more than 200 magazines worldwide — most now available only in digital format.

After its founding as a data company in 1964, IDG grew into an international behemoth with more than 60 titles in China alone. It also has a joint venture with Hearst to publish the Chinese versions of Cosmo, Esquire and Harper’s Bazaar.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Reuters had previously reported that IDG was in talks to sell itself to an undisclosed Chinese buyout firm for $500 million to $1 billion.

The deal for IDG marks just the latest excursion by deep-pocketed Asian buyers into US media.

Forbes Media was taken over in 2014 by Integrated Whale Media, controlled by Hong Kong financiers Yam Tak-Cheung (aka TC Yam) and Wong Siu Wah (aka Sammy Wong), along with Singapore businessman Wayne Hsieh.

Then in November, Guggenheim Partners sold Dick Clark Productions for $1 billion to Dalian Wanda Group, the world’s No. 1 cinema owner, controlled by billionaire Wang Jianlin.

Beckman lands

Richard Beckman, who exited as chief revenue officer at Vice Media last year, has landed at Discovery-backed Group Nine Media, parent of Thrillist and other sites, as its chief revenue officer.

Discovery, the cable-TV powerhouse, announced in October that it was putting $100 million into the company controlled by Lerer Hippeau Ventures and headed by Ben Lerer.

It includes Thrillist, The Dodo, Seeker and the news and entertainment site Now This.

The move seems aimed at getting video producers more into the longform video game, rather than being an old-fashioned traffic play.

The company boasts that it’s already the No. 1 video news publisher on Facebook.

“We have a combined 4.2 billion video views per month,” Beckman said. “These are video views — not impressions. It shows engagement — and engagement is replacing reach for the sake of reach.”

Beckman also joked that the “Mad Dog” nickname he picked up when he was an up-and-coming executive at Condé Nast — and which stuck with him as CEO at Prometheus Global Media and co-founder of the now defunct Three Lions Entertainment — is being usurped by Donald Trump’s pick for Defense secretary, James “Mad Dog” Mattis.

“I’ve had it for more than 20 years,” he said in mock indignation, “but I think my real title should be Alchemist, formerly known as Mad Dog.”

Time-tremor

Time is shuffling the deck again, although this week’s shakeup, which has 30 people heading for the exits, is not seen as quite as big a jolt as the earthquake that hit last July, eliminating all publisher jobs.

Among those who are exiting the company — either through job eliminations or early retirement packages — are executives who were handed promotions only seven months ago:

Charlie Kammerer, who was president of news, business, sports and lifestyle

Christine Wu, senior vice president of advertising strategy and marketing

Andy Blau, senior vice president and chief business officer

Rick Simmons, senior vice president of automotive

Ron King, senior vice president of fashion/style, multicultural and shelter

Chris Grdovic, brand sales director of luxury and a former publisher of Travel & Leisure. In the latest moves, Greg Schumann and Karen Kovacs were each elevated to the rank of group presidents, sales.

Kovacs, a former People publisher, will oversee food/beverage, beauty, and entertainment/style. Schumann, who was overseeing pharmaceuticals, will be in charge of auto, financial services, government/industry, home and technology/telecommunications.

Susan Parkes-Cirignano, formerly in People public relations, become senior vice president, advertising and brand marketing.