PRINT THIS PAGE

Bridgepoint backs UK publishing buy-out in fourth deal of the year

Bridgepoint has maintained its record as one of the most active European mid-market buy-out groups with its fourth major acquisition of the year. The group has backed a buy-out of UK publishing business John Brown Publishing in a deal understood to be worth around £30m.

JBP is the UK's largest contract publisher measured by billings. It publishes a series of lifestyle, listings, staff and entertainment magazines for clients including Waitrose, Sky, Virgin Atlantic and Orange. Bridgepoint said the company was attractive because the management team was strong and the market was growing.

'The contract publishing market is well established with good growth rates. Andrew Hirsch and his colleagues are among the most experienced in their sector with a market leading position on which we expect to build,' said Michael Black, the director responsible for Bridgepoint's media activities.

Bridgepoint has already completed two deals in Spain and one in the UK this year and further acquisitions are highly likely. In recent years it has averaged around seven deals per annum, excluding add-on acquisitions, making it a more active investor than almost all its pan-European mid-market peers. It has also managed to exit ten investments this year.

The group is widely expected to join the crush of other pan-European groups fundraising at some point next year. Around 20 buy-out firms, including a handful of US groups, are likely to be marketing product at some point in 2005 with a combined target of around E40bn, according to research produced by Almeida Capital. This excludes country-specific and venture capital funds.

Copyright © 2004 AltAssets