Hearst Corp. has peeled off Cycle World and sold it to Swedish publishing giant Bonnier Corp.
Hearst picked up Cycle World this spring as part of its $900 million acquisition of 100-plus magazines from Paris-based Lagardère, including all Hachette Filipacchi Media titles in the US. At the time, Hachette put Cycle World under its Jumpstart Automotive Group, which includes Car and Driver and other auto-related titles. Jumpstart, an online auto advertising specialist, oversaw both print and digital ad sales.
Since then, Hearst has split the print versions of the auto books from Jumpstart and dispatched them to a men’s magazine group that includes Esquire and Popular Mechanics.
Cycle World, based in Newport Beach, Calif., had an annual profit of about $1.5 million. One industry source estimated the sale price to be less than $10 million.
“It was a profitable brand, but there was no way it was going to fit into the Hearst machine,” said one source.
Mary Hoye remains as editor, along with Andrew Leisner as president of integrated sales and marketing. The group is now part of Bonnier’s outdoor group, which includes Field & Stream.