WHEN McGraw-Hill said earlier this summer it wanted first-round bids for BusinessWeek to be submitted by late August, most people thought that deadline was overly optimistic.
It turns out they were right.
With the month more than halfway over, McGraw-Hill still hasn’t set a date for suitors to submit offers for the beleaguered business mag.
Nine companies are said to be in the hunt, including TV Guide owner OpenGate Capital, investment company Warburg Pincus, New York magazine owner Bruce Wasserstein, Fast Company owner Joe Mansueto and private-equity shop and Boston Globe suitor Platinum Equity Partners.
However, there’s skepticism about McGraw-Hill’s math in calculating a price it would like for the magazine.
According to people familiar with the matter, the sale documents, which were prepared by Evercore Partners, strip out some $20 million for corporate overhead, which covers, among other things, BusinessWeek’s share of the cost of McGraw-Hill’s pricey offices in Rockefeller Center.
Bidders are said to be a little skeptical about that tabulation, arguing that even if the mag moves out of Rockefeller Center it still faces considerable real estate costs.
What’s more, a new owner would likely have to cough up money to replicate things like circulation and fulfillment to keep the magazine going.
Observers say Wasserstein is emerging as a front-runner for the title, even though the magazine assets he owns are currently struggling in a tough ad climate.
Wasserstein owns New York magazine through a family trust and his US Equity Partners owns The Deal, a business trade pub. Meanwhile, he also holds a major stake in Penton Media.
To be sure, there is no guarantee Wasserstein will step up and buy the magazine.
After spending $65 million in 2004 for New York and burning through several million ever since, sources said he might only buy BusinessWeek if he can be convinced the title could regain some of its former glory.
That might include getting as close to the $100 million in profits it generated a decade ago. Today, BusinessWeek is losing tens of millions of dollars.
For its part, OpenGate, at least on paper, might be considered a likely candidate as well. However, even with magazine veteran and acting CEO Jack Kliger on hand for the management presentation from McGraw-Hill, OpenGate might not be able to absorb the estimated $40 million in subscription liabilities that would come with the 900,000-circulation weekly.
Meanwhile, sources said BusinessWeek staffers are living in fear that the magazine could fall into the hands of a financial buyer like Platinum, which would probably be inclined to slash many of the 190-person editorial staff in order to better cope with the weekly’s rapidly declining revenue.
Way-Ward
Andy Ward, the first person that GQ Editor Jim Nelson hired seven years ago when he got the job, is jumping ship to return to the book-publishing world as a vice president and executive editor at the Random House imprint of Random House Inc.
Ward had been at GQ archrival Esquire at the time of Nelson’s raid, and turned into one of Nelson’s most trusted operatives, being instrumental in luring writers Lisa DePaulo, Sean Flynn and George Saunders to the pages of the Condé Nast-owned magazine.
“This has nothing to do with Condé Nast’s fortunes,” said Ward. “I had worked with Little, Brown for a few years right out of college and had always thought of going back.”
Nelson sent out a glowing farewell memo late Monday when the news broke.
Ward was No. 3 on the GQ masthead and no replacement has been named yet. He is sticking around for a few weeks to help close the November issue.
Play ball
The Writers snapped their two-game losing streak to the Artists 12-11 in extra innings at the 61st annual softball game in East Hampton Saturday.
Media Ink’s own Keith Kelly, who went 0 for 1, relieved author and Watergate scribe Carl Bernstein behind the plate, catching Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman for three innings.
Sag Harbor Express reporter Be nito Villa was the winning pitcher in relief.
He also singled and then scored the win ning run on an Artists’ throwing error in the bottom of the 10th.
“We had a lot of fun and we’re starting an other winning streak,” said the New Yorker’s Ken Auletta, the Writers’ team captain and first baseman.
Artists’ captain Leif Hope said the ticket sales, auction and an event the night before raised more than $75,000 for three local East End charitable organizations. keith.kelly@nypost.com