Hearst Magazines President David Carey confirmed in an email to employees that the company has entered into exclusive negotiations with Lagardère to acquire a group of the French publisher’s magazines, which include US and international editions of Elle Décor and Elle.
“...This announcement speaks volumes about our belief in the magazine medium — in print today, plus its many other expressions tomorrow, and in the value of premium content throughout the world,” Carey wrote.
The deadline for negotiations is said to be January 30, and will be an all-cash transaction, Lagardère said in a report. Since the announcement, Lagardère shares increased by 9.37% on the Paris stock exchange to close at $45.09 at current exchange. Lagardère’s overseas magazine business generated revenues of $976 million to $1.1 billion, in 2009 out of total revenues of $1.8 billion.
The deal would make Hearst the largest magazine publisher after Time Inc.
