New York-based publisher Hearst Magazines continues its acquisition streak.
The owner of magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s BAZAAR agreed to acquire Rodale, the company behind Women’s Health and Men’s Health, for less than $225 million (h/t The Wall Street Journal).
The deal was announced about a month after Hearst picked up two Illinois papers, including Alton-based The Telegraph, from Civitas Media LLC.
Hearst, which owns 24 daily newspapers and some five dozen weeklies across the U.S., is expected to close the deal next year.
Family-owned Rodale also publishes Runner’s World, Bicycling and Prevention. The transaction concludes a sale process that began in June, when it was courting potential buyers.
Meredith Corp., which publishes Family Circle and Better Homes & Gardens, was expected to emerge as the buyer, according to The New York Times.
“We have a long-standing respect for Hearst’s commitment to connecting consumers with imaginative, engaging content across an ever-diversifying choice of platforms, technologies and experiences around the world,” Rodale CEO Maria Rodale said in a statement. ”We believe our exceptional brands, businesses and employees will thrive in this culture of innovation and we are confident that Hearst’s stewardship will continue to grow the passionate and purpose-driven communities that Rodale has built over the past 70 years.”
Rodale's family has been in the publishing industry for generations, dating back to when J.I. Rodale — her grandfather — founded Organic Farming and Gardening in 1942.
Along with Rodale’s magazine business, Hearst is also purchasing the company’s book publishing division.
Emmaus, Pa.-based Rodale’s book division is known for titles including Former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s Onward (h/t the Philadelphia Business Journal).
Allen & Company acted as financial advisor to Rodale in its sale and New York’s Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz acted as legal advisor.
