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BONO'S 'PARENT' TRACK
IRISH ROCKER WANTS PIECE OF TIME INC. MAG EMPIRE
By Keith J Kelly
TEN companies are still circling the 18 Time Inc. titles that have been put on the block - and there are lots of surprises in the mix.
Perhaps the biggest is that U2 front man Bono is in the hunt.
The Irish rocker is the co-founder and managing director of Elevation Partners, which is said to be interested in acquiring the Parenting Group, which includes magazines Parenting, Baby Talk and related Web sites.
This summer, Bono and his Elevation pals, including private-equity big Roger McNamee, stunned the investment world when they plunked down a reported $300 million for a 40 percent stake in Forbes Inc.
To some, the move seemed a bit odd for a man who has been trying to solve the problem of Third World debt while simultaneously trying to move his personal fortune to Finland from Dublin in order to beat the tax man.
Elevation is said to be one of a trio of firms that are seeking only the Parenting Group titles from Time Inc. The word is that the suitors feel that young moms will increasingly turn to Web sites for the parenting info they crave.
Another surprise bidder for the Parenting Group is David Liu, CEO of The Knot, a publicly traded company that is developing a specialty in bridal registry sites.
It is seen as a counterintuitive play because after mastering the Web, The Knot would be branching into old media.
Liu publishes 16 regional wedding magazines and recently introduced a new national magazine called Nest, for young newlyweds. The Knot also has Web sites related to proms and dating.
Liu's company recently added Eileen Naughton, former president of Time magazine, to its board of directors to provide a little helpful insight.
(By coincidence, Liu is addressing the Magazine Publishers of America as part of its "Breakfast with a Leader Series" at the Union Club this morning. Questions, anyone?)
The third bidder for the Parenting titles is Falconhead Capital, an investment team headed by David Moross, who owns Growing Families Inc. and has a leg up on new moms thanks to its ownership of the First Foto division, which snaps new babies in the hospital.
The remaining bidders are interested in buying the Time4 Media titles that include Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Ski, Skiing, Transworld Snowboarding, Popular Science and 10 others.
That list of potential buyers includes the Quadrangle Group's Steve Rattner and Peter Ezersky, who are said to be backing ex-Wenner Media executive Kent Brownridge; Bonnier Group, the Stockholm-based publishing giant; Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist's Active Media Group, which is backed by Windpoint Partners; Veronis Suhler Stevenson, which is backing ex-Gruner + Jahr USA CEO Russell Denson; former Time Inc. Executive Vice President Jack Haire, who has backing from Boston Ventures; and InterMedia Partners, a company formed by former Yes Network head Leo Hindery, which already owns the 24/7 cable network The Sportsman Channel.
Another new name on the list is Oak Hill Capital Partners, which is said to be interested in backing management.
Oak Hill declined to comment on any talks with Time Inc.
Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons confirmed at an investment conference in New York yesterday that there were 10 bidders and that he expected to have a deal to sell the 18 magazines in "early 2007."
That comment appeared to dash the early hope of Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore to obtain at least a tentative agreement by the end of the fourth quarter.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12062006/business/bonos_parent_track_business_keith_j__kelly.htm
IRISH ROCKER WANTS PIECE OF TIME INC. MAG EMPIRE
By Keith J Kelly
TEN companies are still circling the 18 Time Inc. titles that have been put on the block - and there are lots of surprises in the mix.
Perhaps the biggest is that U2 front man Bono is in the hunt.
The Irish rocker is the co-founder and managing director of Elevation Partners, which is said to be interested in acquiring the Parenting Group, which includes magazines Parenting, Baby Talk and related Web sites.
This summer, Bono and his Elevation pals, including private-equity big Roger McNamee, stunned the investment world when they plunked down a reported $300 million for a 40 percent stake in Forbes Inc.
To some, the move seemed a bit odd for a man who has been trying to solve the problem of Third World debt while simultaneously trying to move his personal fortune to Finland from Dublin in order to beat the tax man.
Elevation is said to be one of a trio of firms that are seeking only the Parenting Group titles from Time Inc. The word is that the suitors feel that young moms will increasingly turn to Web sites for the parenting info they crave.
Another surprise bidder for the Parenting Group is David Liu, CEO of The Knot, a publicly traded company that is developing a specialty in bridal registry sites.
It is seen as a counterintuitive play because after mastering the Web, The Knot would be branching into old media.
Liu publishes 16 regional wedding magazines and recently introduced a new national magazine called Nest, for young newlyweds. The Knot also has Web sites related to proms and dating.
Liu's company recently added Eileen Naughton, former president of Time magazine, to its board of directors to provide a little helpful insight.
(By coincidence, Liu is addressing the Magazine Publishers of America as part of its "Breakfast with a Leader Series" at the Union Club this morning. Questions, anyone?)
The third bidder for the Parenting titles is Falconhead Capital, an investment team headed by David Moross, who owns Growing Families Inc. and has a leg up on new moms thanks to its ownership of the First Foto division, which snaps new babies in the hospital.
The remaining bidders are interested in buying the Time4 Media titles that include Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Ski, Skiing, Transworld Snowboarding, Popular Science and 10 others.
That list of potential buyers includes the Quadrangle Group's Steve Rattner and Peter Ezersky, who are said to be backing ex-Wenner Media executive Kent Brownridge; Bonnier Group, the Stockholm-based publishing giant; Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist's Active Media Group, which is backed by Windpoint Partners; Veronis Suhler Stevenson, which is backing ex-Gruner + Jahr USA CEO Russell Denson; former Time Inc. Executive Vice President Jack Haire, who has backing from Boston Ventures; and InterMedia Partners, a company formed by former Yes Network head Leo Hindery, which already owns the 24/7 cable network The Sportsman Channel.
Another new name on the list is Oak Hill Capital Partners, which is said to be interested in backing management.
Oak Hill declined to comment on any talks with Time Inc.
Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons confirmed at an investment conference in New York yesterday that there were 10 bidders and that he expected to have a deal to sell the 18 magazines in "early 2007."
That comment appeared to dash the early hope of Time Inc. CEO Ann Moore to obtain at least a tentative agreement by the end of the fourth quarter.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12062006/business/bonos_parent_track_business_keith_j__kelly.htm
