British-media group Emap "confirmed Tuesday its
agreement" to buy Petersen Cos. for $1.2B, according to
James Peltz of the L.A. TIMES. The merger brings Emap's
magazine titles to more than 400 as it adds Petersen's 132
publications, including Hot Rod, Sport and Motor Trend.
Peltz reports that Emap hopes to use Petersen "as a gateway
to introduce some of its top European magazines to the U.S.
market" and "support Petersen's own agressive program of
buying additional specialty magazines." Emap CEO Kevin
Hand: "Together we want to become the biggest specialist
publisher in the world." Petersen Chair James Dunning Jr.
says the deal is "about growing the business, not about
cost-cutting" and there will be "zero" layoffs as a result
of the acquisition (L.A. TIMES, 12/16). In N.Y., Tharp &
Kelly report that Petersen's management team "will keep
their jobs, and most of them will collect cash windfalls
ranging" from $1M to "more than" $38M. The group originally
bought Petersen for "more than" $450M in '96 (N.Y. POST,
12/16). Also in N.Y., Celia McGee writes that under
Dunning, Petersen has "aggressively pursued specialty-
magazine acquisitions, brand expansion," and joint ventures.
An example is the recently announced partnership with NBC
Sports on the extreme-sports Gravity Games Festival.
Dunning said that the sporting venture "is about a $50
million deal annually" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/16).
