Key Media to acquire InvestmentNews

InvestmentNews will be acquired by global business-to-business publisher Key Media, parent company Bonhill Group plc announced Wednesday.

The agreement includes the purchase of New York City-based InvestmentNews for $4.1 million in cash by KM Business Information US Inc., a Key Media company, subject to shareholder approval.

Along with the sale, InvestmentNews is moving from its offices at 685 3^rd Avenue, with the lease of its current space expected to be assigned to another media company by the end of June.

"We are excited to be acquiring such an iconic U.S. title and to have Bonhill's incredibly talented staff join our global team,” Key Media CEO Mike Shipley said in the regulatory announcement. “We see a lot of opportunity for us to complement our existing global titles and grow the existing InvestmentNews portfolio of products."

Following the acquisition, InvestmentNews executive director and CEO John French will resign from his role as director to join Key Media.

With a staff that includes numerous award-winning journalists, InvestmentNews strives to be the leading source of news, analysis and insights for financial advisors and wealth management professionals.

The publication, which launched in 1997 as a print weekly, has expanded to include a variety of live events, research and data services.

Key Media, which started in the early 2000s, serves an audience of more than 2.4 million unique visitors per month across its titles. The group has 59 websites covering such topics as the mortgage and insurance industries, HR and wealth management, and hosts more than 90 live events. It has more than 300 employees globally, in locations including Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the U.S., the U.K., South Korea, Antigua and Canada.

"We are pleased to announce today the conditional exchange of contracts with KM Business Information US, Inc. for the sale of the business and assets of IN, which is the remaining part of the group. I would like to take this opportunity to thank John French for all the hard work that has been put in to securing this deal thus far,” Jonathan Glasspool, non-executive chair of Bonhill, said in the regulatory announcement. “The board is now committed to returning as soon as reasonably practicable substantially all of the company's cash to shareholders as previously announced."

London-based Bonhill acquired InvestmentNews in 2018 for $27.1 million. Bonhill sold its UK and Asia-based publications earlier this year to the Mark Allen Group for £6.5 million, with plans at the time to sell InvestmentNews separately.

In 2021, InvestmentNews had turnover of £7.4 million and an operating loss of £7 million, with net liabilities at the time of £7.5 million, Bonhill disclosed in its announcement.