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European BC Partners sells stake in Trader Media for £600m

European private equity firm BC Partners has announced the sale of its interest in Trader Media Group (TMG) to Guardian Media Group (GMG). The transaction values the company at an enterprise value of £1.14bn.

GMG already owns 48 per cent of TMG and is to acquire 46.8 per cent from BC Partners. The remaining 5.2 per cent was previously controlled by TMG's management but will also be sold to GMG. GMG will pay a total consideration of £593m.

TMG is the UK's leading publisher of classified magazines for the automotive sector. Auto Trade, the firm's leading title has a weekly circulation of 340,000. The company also runs Europe's busiest automotive website.

‘Since BC Partners first invested in Trader Media Group in 1998 the company has developed strongly,' said Simon Palley, the managing partner who led the investment at BC Partners. ‘We believe GMG will be able to continue to drive the company forward successfully.'

BC Partners acquired Auto Trader's former owner, Hurst Publishing, in 1998 for £260m, less than half the amount that GMG has paid for outright control of the company.

BC Partners has invested in 52 European acquisitions with a total enterprise value of E25bn since its inception 15 years ago. Over the next five years the firm expects to make a further 15 to 20 investments with a total value of in excess of E10bn.

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