Reed Business Information has been looking for a buyer recently but the auction process has apparently just been terminated, prompting all sorts of speculation about a possible break-up of the B2B publishing empire – which includes UK construction titles (and associated websites) such as Contract Journal and Estates Gazette, plus operations such as Reed Construction Data in the US and Canada.
There is also talk of “major job cuts” and “closure of some magazines/divisions”, while “RBI’s construction trade division could get some bids from the likes of Hanley Wood or McGraw Hill”.
2 comments
Paul, speculation is, of course, speculation.
Reed wanted to sell RBI as a whole to make the process quicker and not incur huge legal fees. That will still be a problem for them if they go for the break-up option.
Any job cuts are more likely to be a result of the economic climate than trying to make RBI more attractive to would-be buyers.
A bid from McGraw Hill can’t be discounted, but it’s unlikely this would include RBI’s UK construction titles – the intention would be strengthen McGraw Hill’s market-leading position in US construction media.
Thanks, Will. I reckon your view of any bid from McGraw-Hill is spot-on. The organisation has little presence in the UK construction world (it is mainly known as an educational publisher – its imprints include the Open University Press) which leaves you wondering who might want the UK construction-related titles.