Immediate Media Co, the special interest content and platform company, yesterday completed the acquisition of Future’s Sport and Craft brands in a deal valued at up to £24m. The completion follows Future shareholder approval, agreed last week.
Yesterday Immediate CEO Tom Bureau said: “Today we welcome an array of world-class special interest brands into the Immediate portfolio. I’m delighted that these internationally renowned and incredibly talented teams are joining us at such an exciting time for the business. They are an ideal strategic fit as we drive our vision to develop new commercial opportunities around strong branded content, delivered across many platforms to our highly engaged affluent audiences.”
Future’s Sport titles will join Immediate’s digital network. Focused on cycling, the Sport portfolio includes BikeRadar.com, a cycling reviews website, alongside Cyclingnews.com, a source for pro-cycling news and race reports. The print portfolio includes Cycling Plus alongside Procycling and Mountain Biking UK.
Future’s portfolio of Craft brands (including Love Patchwork & Quilting, Simply Knitting and Mollie Makes) will join Immediate’s own portfolio of titles including Cardmaking & Papercraft, Craftseller and The World of Cross Stitching.
Immediate Media Co was formed on 1st November 2011 by the merger of BBC Magazines and digital platform company Magicalia. With a portfolio of brands, Immediate’s vision is to create a multi-platform content company in sustainable growth. Immediate is backed by Exponent Private Equity.
