Magazine publisher explores sale of main media unit

Bonnier Corp. has been meeting with bankers to explore its options

Bonnier Corp., publisher of such magazines as Field & Stream, Saveur and Yachting, has been meeting with bankers to explore its options, including the possible sale of the unit that holds most of its magazines, according to people familiar with the situation.

One person said the talks are exploratory at this point. “They first want to know what the media assets are worth before an y decisions are made,” said this person. A banker hasn’t yet been retained.

Bonnier today boasts 24 titles, including 14 that are in print, such as Boating, Sailing World and Outdoor Life. Digital properties include motorcyclistonline.com and islands.com. The company is profitable, the person said.

Bonnier is expected to keep its Working Mother Media division, which includes two diversity consulting businesses, a conference business and a quarterly print publication called Working Mother. Bonnier also owns an events business called Bonnier Events, which is separate from Bonnier Media. It, too, is expected to be kept, the person said.

The company underwent a restructuring in January 2018 at which point significant cost and staffing reductions were taken, the person said.

Bonnier Corp. was formed in 2007 when Bonnier AB, a closely held media company based in Stockholm, acquired a group of 18 magazines from the former Time Inc. and combined it with World Publications, the U.S. consumer magazine group it owned at the time.

The merger created a business with 40 titles and revenue of more than $350 million, according to a news release issued by Bonnier.

Over the last two years, Bonnier has responded to market pressures by reducing the frequency of some of its titles including Popular Science, Saveur and Field & Stream, which have all become quarterly. The move helped slash printing and distribution costs while improving the appearance and feel of each publication.

Bonnier’s decision to explore a potential sale comes at a time when print advertising and newsstand revenue has been declining industrywide, as marketers increasingly focus online. The digital advertising business has also been challenged for many publishers, in large part because big tech companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. capture so much of new digital ad spending.

Researcher eMarketer estimates Facebook and Google together will capture will capture 61% of the $151.3 billion expected to be spent on U.S. digital advertising in this year. The challenge for many smaller niche publishers is that they lack the necessary scale to compete with much larger rivals.

A number of magazine titles have changed hands in recent years. In June 2018, American Media Inc. acquired a group of gossip titles that included In Touch and Life & Style from Bauer Media Group U.S.A. as part of the deal, American Media also acquired some teen publications from Bauer, including Teen Boss and Girls’ World.

American Media recently said it had agreed to sell the National Enquirer, but the deal hasn’t yet closed.

The country’s best known magazine publisher, Time Inc., was sold to Meredith Corp. in January 2018 following years of revenue declines.

Meredith, in turn, sold three former Time titles including Fortune, Sports Illustrated and Time. Meredith said at the time that the brands didn’t fit into its portfolio, which is largely dominated by such women’s titles as Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Magnolia Journal.