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Indiantelevision.com
MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of UK pubcaster the BBC, has agreed to sell the travel guide business Lonely Planet to NC2 Media, following approval from the BBC Trust.
The move follows the BBC?s commercial review last year which set out the company?s strategy to focus on BBC brands and promote the best of the corporation?s output globally.
BBC Worldwide will receive ?51.5 million with ?41.2 million paid on completion and ?10.3 million paid in one year?s time.
BBC Worldwide interim CEO Paul Dempsey said, ?We acquired Lonely Planet in 2007 when both our strategy and the market conditions were quite different. Since then, Lonely Planet has increased its presence in digital, magazine publishing and emerging markets whilst also growing its global market share, despite difficult economic conditions. However, we have also recognised that it no longer fits with our plans to put BBC brands at the heart of our business and have decided to sell the company to NC2 Media who are better placed to build and invest in the business."
Lonely Planet is a travel publisher and has printed approximately 120 million books in 11 different languages. Lonely Planet?s magazine franchise has expanded beyond the first UK edition to 14 international editions.
However, Lonely Planet?s financial performance has been impacted in recent years by the continued strength of the Australian dollar, the rapid consolidation of the publishing industry and a global recession which affected leisure travel.
BBC Worldwide has been exploring strategic options for Lonely Planet over the last year and was keen to find a new owner that could bring greater focus and capital to the business. NC2 Media demonstrated a commitment to invest in Lonely Planet and today?s announcement concludes the process to find the right buyer.
NC2 Media is a US-based media company primarily engaged in the creation, acquisition, and distribution of quality digital content and the development of the technologies that make this possible. The company is poised to leverage the opportunities presented by the changing landscape within the industry. The business is headquartered in Nashville Tennessee, and led by Daniel Houghton, its executive director, who will take on additional responsibility at Lonely Planet as COO.
NC2 Media?s primary shareholder is Brad Kelley, an American businessman and Forbes 400 member. His historical business interests include consumer products and real estate and he was formerly the largest shareholder and board member in Churchill Downs. Kelley?s current business interests focus on media via NC2 Media and various technologies through VAON Technology Unit. He also pursues significant interests in land and wildlife conservation through the Kelley Conservation Foundation.
NC2 Media executive director Daniel Houghton commented, ?With this acquisition comes a global footprint, not only in the travel guide business, but also in magazine publishing and the digital space. We are very excited about this opportunity, and delighted to agree this deal with BBC Worldwide. The challenge and promise before us is to marry the world?s greatest travel information and guidebook company with the limitless potential of 21st century digital technology. If we can do this, and I believe we can, we can build a business that, while remaining true to the things that made Lonely Planet great in the past, promises to make it even greater in the future.?
The sale transaction will occur at the end of the current financial year 31 March, and Lonely Planet will continue to function as a global operation.
BBC Worldwide had acquired 75 per cent of Lonely Planet in 2007 for ?88.1 million and the remaining 25 per cent in 2011 for ?42.17 million, for a total consideration of ?130.2 million.
During the time BBC Worldwide has owned Lonely Planet, its annual revenue has grown from ?810 million in 2007 to ?1.08 billion in 2012 ? with profit increasing from ?111 million in 2007 to ?155 million in 2012.
