Bauer media’s magazines in New Zealand and Australia have been sold to Australian private equity firm Mercury Capital.
The Sydney-based firm has been in talks to buy the Bauer Australia magazine business for quite some time now, according to The Australian.
On Wednesday Bauer issued a statement confirming that Mercury Capital will acquire all of Bauer Media Australia’s print and digital assets. The agreement also includes those brands recently acquired by Bauer from Pacific Magazines and Bauer’s New Zealand mastheads.
Bauer’s New Zealand magazine stable included the Listener, the Woman’s Weekly, North & South, Metro, Taste, FQ, Your Home & Garden, Simply You, Home, Good Health and Wellbeing.
The announcement comes after much speculation as to the fate of these publications following Bauer’s announcement in early April that it would be officially closing the New Zealand side of its publishing business.
“Bauer Media remains committed to magazine publishing. This decision supports our strategy to invest in our market leading brands where we believe we are best placed to do so.
“We have been proud to be the custodian of these iconic brands in Australia. I would like to thank our talented teams for their commitment and the contribution they have made to Bauer Media. I wish them well for the future,” says Veit Dengler, Bauer Media COO.
Mercury Capital has in its portfolio Hexagon Holdings, as well as Tamaki Health, the largest primary care operator in New Zealand.
The sale is subject to relevant regulatory approvals, with completion expected by the end of July.
