A report in the Financial Times today states that valuations for media publisher Reed Business Information have fallen substantially and now threaten to derail a sale by Reed Elsevier. Apparently third-round bidders are considering offers below £1bn, far lower than the initial valuation of about £1.25bn. RBI's main assets are its publications, in which the company owns the goodwill in its titles as well as a quantity of material that is protected by copyright and database right. Leading titles include New Scientist, Farmers Weekly, Kellys Industrial Directories, Kompass, Travel Weekly, Totaljobs and Electronics Weekly: most titles exist in both paper and electronic formats and many carry a large volume of job-related and other advertising.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Reed numbers tumble as third-round bidders play cautious
A report in the Financial Times today states that valuations for media publisher Reed Business Information have fallen substantially and now threaten to derail a sale by Reed Elsevier. Apparently third-round bidders are considering offers below £1bn, far lower than the initial valuation of about £1.25bn. RBI's main assets are its publications, in which the company owns the goodwill in its titles as well as a quantity of material that is protected by copyright and database right. Leading titles include New Scientist, Farmers Weekly, Kellys Industrial Directories, Kompass, Travel Weekly, Totaljobs and Electronics Weekly: most titles exist in both paper and electronic formats and many carry a large volume of job-related and other advertising.
