AOL Time Warner to Acquire IPC

Posted on July 27, 2001

Time Inc. has reached a definitive agreement to acquire IPC Group Limited, parent company of IPC Media, from Cinven, a private equity firm. The purchase price is 1.15 billion pounds sterling (about $1.6 billion) including the cash in the company. Cinven led the management buyout of IPC from Reed Elsevier plc in January 1998 for 860 million pounds.

IPC is the United Kingdom's leading consumer magazine publisher with approximately 100 brands, selling 350 million magazines annually. It is focused on five core areas: Women; TV; Home & Garden; Leisure; and Men's Lifestyle & Entertainment. Its titles target include What's on TV, TVTimes, Woman, Woman's Own, Marie Claire, Loaded, NME, Country Life and Horse & Hound. IPC acquired Link House Media in 1998, adding over 30 brands to its portfolio, and has also launched a total of 12 new print and online brands since the buyout.

Don Logan, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc., said, ``In addition to strengthening our magazine publishing business with a number of quality titles, IPC will provide us with valuable synergies with other AOL Time Warner brands. We look forward to working with IPC's management team in continuing to build this tremendous business.''