Time Warner is expected to announce today that it has sold 18 magazines to the Bonnier Group, a Stockholm-based publishing giant better known in Europe than the U.S.
The deal was expected to be more than $200 million but well below the $300 million that Time Inc. sought when it first put the magazines up for sale last fall.
Time Warner’s board is scheduled to meet today for its quarterly meeting, during which they are expected to approve the sale. Officials at Time Warner could not be reached for comment at presstime.
The transaction involves Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, TransWorld Snowboarding, Yachting, Salt Water Sportsman, and 11 other magazines in the Time 4 Media Group, as well as the Parenting Group, which includes magazines Parenting and Baby Talk.
Bonnier is a 200-year-old company that owns magazines, newspapers and TV stations mainly in Scandinavian countries and has revenues of just under $3 billion a year.
Jonas Bonnier, the head of the company’s magazine division, has been keen to expand in the U.S., where it has a minority stake in World Publications, publisher of Saveur, Garden Design, Caribbean Travel & Life and various water sports titles.
In landing the Time Inc. titles, Bonnier beat out two of the most well connected dealmakers on Wall Street – Steve Rattner and Peter Ezersky, founders of the Quadrangle Group – who were backing ex-Wenner Media executive Kent Brownridge, hailed as one of the sharpest pencils in the publishing industry.
Bonnier also beat out Boston Ventures, another savvy media buyout firm that was behind ex-Time Inc. executive Jack Haire.
Three other suitors submitted bids only for the sporting titles, which sources say hurt their chances. The Knot, headed by CEO David Liu, was believed to have bid only on the Parenting titles.