ABRY Partners is buying F+W Publications from Providence Equity Partners for $500 million after winning out in a Credit Suisse First Boston-led auction. CSFB and JPMorgan are now set to lead up to $350 million of debt to finance the acquisition. The company reportedly has $50 million of EBITDA.
Penny Koenig, a partner at Boston-based private-equity firm ABRY, confirmed the leads but declined to comment on the purchase price or the financing structure. She did note that there is a very vibrant M&A market right now, with a multitude of Business-to-Business publishing companies being auctioned off. "The market has recovered after several years of slow-to-negative growth. These businesses are doing much better and sellers can take advantage of the cash flows," she stated, adding that there is a prudent amount of financial leverage currently available.
F+W has over 200 media properties. These titles are in the hobby sector, such as Writing, Outdoor, Log Homes and Guns & Knives and Sports. "We like the enthusiast, hobby sector," Koenig noted. She added that the business has diversified revenue streams from advertising and subscriptions. ABRY partnered with David Steward, the new CEO, who is the former President of Publishing at Martha Stewart Omnimedia. A CSFB official and a JPMorgan spokesman were unable to confirm the details.