Primedia
Encyclopedia
PRIMEDIA Inc. is privately held American media company fully owned by TPG Capital.
Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products. Their Apartment Guide, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and New Home Guide brands are their most recognizable, but additional properties such as RentRentar.com and RentalHouses.com also exist.
Organized in 1989 as K-III Communications Corporation by private equity
giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the company made a series of acquisitions of niche publications under Bill Reilly's leadership in the 1990s. The firm went public in 1995, selling stock 15 million shares at approximately $12 per share, in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares. The firm adopted the Primedia name as of November 18, 1997 to more clearly focus on its core business. Primedia sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors
for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included Guns and Ammo and Fly Fisherman. In 2007 Primedia sold its Enthusiast Media division to Source Interlink in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including Motor Trend
and Soap Opera Digest
and 90 consumer web sites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit.
In 2011, private equity firm TPG Capital bought Primedia for $525 million.
Former Major PRIMEDIA Titles (magazines are now part of Source Interlink
as well as Automotive.com, Intellichoice.com, http://www.apartmentguide.comhttp://www.rentals.com, http://www.newhomeguide.com, http://www.americanhomeguides.com web sites
Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products. Their Apartment Guide, ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, and New Home Guide brands are their most recognizable, but additional properties such as RentRentar.com and RentalHouses.com also exist.
Organized in 1989 as K-III Communications Corporation by private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the company made a series of acquisitions of niche publications under Bill Reilly's leadership in the 1990s. The firm went public in 1995, selling stock 15 million shares at approximately $12 per share, in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares. The firm adopted the Primedia name as of November 18, 1997 to more clearly focus on its core business. Primedia sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors
InterMedia Outdoors
InterMedia Outdoors is an outdoors magazine publishing group in the United States. They publish 17 hunting, fishing and shooting magazines, and own The Sportsman Channel specialty channel, which was purchased from its founders in June 2007...
for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included Guns and Ammo and Fly Fisherman. In 2007 Primedia sold its Enthusiast Media division to Source Interlink in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including Motor Trend
Motor Trend
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...
and Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
and 90 consumer web sites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit.
In 2011, private equity firm TPG Capital bought Primedia for $525 million.
Timeline
- 1989 - Founded as K-III Communications, a new venture financed by the investment group Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co.
- 1989 - Purchased Intertec Publishing
- 1989 - Purchased MacmillanMacmillan Publishers (United States)Macmillan Publishers USA, also known as Macmillan Publishing, is a privately held American publishing company owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than 30 others....
book clubs, renamed Newbridge Communications - 1990 - Purchased business publications of Andrews Communications
- 1990 - Acquired Readers Garden, operator of special interest book clubs
- 1990 - Acquired Weekly ReaderWeekly ReaderWeekly Reader is a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children in grades Pre-K–12. It began in 1928 as My Weekly Reader....
and Funk & Wagnalls from Marshall Field 5th - 1991 - Purchased 9 magazines from News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
for $600 million.- Daily Racing FormDaily Racing FormThe Daily Racing Form is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of race horses as a statistical service for bettors on horse racing in the United States....
- Soap Opera DigestSoap Opera DigestSoap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
- Soap Opera WeeklySoap Opera WeeklySoap Opera Weekly is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
- New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
- SeventeenSeventeen (magazine)Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
- PremierePremiere (magazine)Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
- European Travel & Life
- Automobile
- New Woman
- Daily Racing Form
- 1992 - Acquired medical publisher Krames
- 1993 - Acquired three magazines from Wiesner
- 1993 - Acquired World AlmanacWorld AlmanacIn 1993 Scripps sold the Almanac to K-III .The World Almanac was sold to Ripplewood Holdings' WRC Media in 1999. Ripplewood bought Reader's Digest and the book was then produced by the World Almanac Education Group, which was owned by The Reader's Digest Association...
from ScrippsE. W. Scripps CompanyThe E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company... - 1994 - Acquired Stagebill
- 1994 - Acquired Katharine GibbsGibbs CollegeKatharine Gibbs College was a private for-profit institution of higher learning based in the United States of America, founded by Katharine Gibbs....
- 1994 - Acquired Haas Publishing, now Consumer Source Inc.
- 1995 - Went public
- 1995 - Acquired ChicagoChicago (magazine)Chicago is a monthly magazine published by the Tribune Company. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, larger than People in its market...
from Landmark Communications - 1996 - Acquired 14 publications from Cahners Consumer MagazinesReed Business InformationReed Business Information is a large business publisher in the United States, United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia and Asia, often referred to as RBI...
- 1996 - Acquired Pro Football WeeklyPro Football WeeklyPro Football Weekly is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, that covers the National Football League...
- 1997 - Acquired Intellichoice
- 1997 - Sold Krames to Times Mirror
- 1997 - New Woman sold to Rodale
- 1997 - Katharine Gibbs sold to Career Education CorporationCareer Education CorporationCareer Education Corporation , founded in 1994, is a postsecondary education provider with campus-based and online curricula. On July 1, 2003, Career Education Corporation merged with competitor Whitman Education Group, Inc., gaining control over the latter's Sanford-Brown Colleges, Ultrasound...
- 1997 - Changed name to PRIMEDIA Inc.
- 1998 - Daily Racing Form sold to private investors
- 1998 - Stagebill sold to Fred B. Tarter
- 1998 - Newbridge Communications sold to Doubleday Direct
- 1998 - Acquired Sterling/MacFadden's teen magazines and teen publisher Laufer Publishing
- 1999 - Primedia's education unit (Weekly ReaderWeekly ReaderWeekly Reader is a weekly educational classroom magazine designed for children in grades Pre-K–12. It began in 1928 as My Weekly Reader....
, World AlmanacWorld AlmanacIn 1993 Scripps sold the Almanac to K-III .The World Almanac was sold to Ripplewood Holdings' WRC Media in 1999. Ripplewood bought Reader's Digest and the book was then produced by the World Almanac Education Group, which was owned by The Reader's Digest Association...
) sold to Ripplewood HoldingsRipplewood HoldingsRipplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York, New York that focuses on leveraged buyouts, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments.... - 1999 - Acquired Multimedia Publishing
- 2000 - Acquired About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
- 2001 - Purchased EMAPEMAPEmap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
's US magazines (formerly Petersen Publishing) - 2002 - Modern Bride sold to Condé Nast PublicationsCondé Nast PublicationsCondé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
- 2002 - Pro Football Weekly sold to Arkush family
- 2002 - Chicago sold to Tribune CompanyTribune CompanyThe Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
- 2002 - American Baby sold to Meredith CorporationMeredith CorporationThe Meredith Corporation is a media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.-History:...
- 2003 - SeventeenSeventeen (magazine)Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
sold to Hearst CorporationHearst CorporationThe Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media... - 2003 - New YorkNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
sold to Bruce Wasserstein - 2003 - Tiger Beat and Bop sold to Laufer MediaLaufer Media-History:Tiger Beat was started in 1965 by Charles Laufer, and brought stars such as Donny Osmond to national attention. Laufer started several more teen magazines with the same formula. These magazines were later sold to Sterling's Magazines . Scott Laufer, along with three sisters, then founded...
- 2005 - About.comAbout.comAbout.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
sold to The New York Times CompanyThe New York Times CompanyThe New York Times Company is an American media company best known as the publisher of its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. has served as Chairman of the Board since 1997. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.... - 2005 - Sold business information segment (ex-Intertec) to private investors WassersteinBruce WassersteinBruce Jay Wasserstein was an American investment banker and businessman. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spent a year at Cambridge University...
& Co. (later merged with Penton MediaPenton MediaPenton Media, Inc., founded in 1892 by John Penton, is a diversified business-to-business media company. Penton Media is a mass media corporation that publishes and produces 113 magazines, 96 trade shows, 145 websites and has over six million subscribers across 17 different market segments.Numerous...
) - 2006 - Sold Crafts Group to Sandler Capital Management and Outdoor Group to InterMedia PartnersInterMedia PartnersInterMedia Advisors, LLC, also known as InterMedia Advisors is a private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments in the media sector....
- 2007 - Sold Enthusiast Media group (containing the vast majority of PRIMEDIA's magazines) to Source InterlinkSource InterlinkSource Interlink is an American magazine publishing and logistics company. It has a strong position in the automotive magazine sector, owning a variety of magazines including Motor Trend and Automobile.- Current US publications and digital assets :...
, controlled by Ronald BurkleRonald BurkleRonald Wayne Burkle is an American business magnate and investor. A major political fundraiser, he is listed on the Forbes 400, with an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion in 2011.-Life and career:...
, for $1.2 billion. - 2007 - Sold Channel One NewsChannel One NewsChannel One News is a 12 minute news program for teens broadcast via satellite to middle schools and high schools across the United States. Channel One is owned by Alloy Media + Marketing and based in New York City.-Program History:...
to Alloy Media and Marketing - 2008 - Sold South Florida Auto Guide and Wisconsin Auto Guide to TargetMedia Partners; closes Atlanta Auto Guide
- 2009 - Closes Today's Custom Home Magazine]
- 2011 - TPG Capital acquires company
Former Major PRIMEDIA Titles (magazines are now part of Source InterlinkSource InterlinkSource Interlink is an American magazine publishing and logistics company. It has a strong position in the automotive magazine sector, owning a variety of magazines including Motor Trend and Automobile.- Current US publications and digital assets :...
)
- 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine
- Automobile MagazineAutomobile MagazineAutomobile magazine is an automobile magazine in the United States and is owned by Source Interlink. It was founded by a group of former employees of Car and Driver magazine, led by that publications’s former editor, David E. Davis, and originally published by News Corporation...
- Car CraftCar CraftCar Craft is a magazine devoted to automobiles, hot rodding, and drag racing. It is published by Source Interlink Media. It was first established in 1953...
- Dirt Rider
- Four Wheeler
- Home TheaterHome theaterA home theater or home theatre is a theater built in a home, designed to mimic commercial theater performance and feeling, more commonly known as a home cinema...
- Hot Bike
- Hot Rod MagazineHot Rod MagazineHot Rod is an American monthly magazine devoted to hot rodding, —modifying automobiles for performance and appearance.-History:Hot Rod is the oldest magazine devoted to hot rodding having been published since 1948. Robert E. Petersen founded the magazine and his Petersen Publishing Company...
- JP Magazine
- Lowrider MagazineLowrider MagazineLowrider Magazine is a monthly magazine about cars, focusing almost exclusively on the style known as a lowrider. The magazine has also released a series of videos available on DVD. It was founded in 1977 with the first issue coming out of San Jose, California.- External links :*...
- Mini Truckin Magazine
- Modified Magazine
- Mopar Muscle Magazine
- MotorcyclistMotorcyclist (magazine)Motorcyclist is a motorcycling magazine in the United States. The magazine is headquartered in Los Angeles, and is published by Source Interlink Media. The current Editor in Chief, Brian Catterson, was formerly Executive Editor at rival Cycle World....
- Motor TrendMotor TrendMotor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...
- Mustang Monthly
- Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off Road
- Power & Motoryacht
- Project car tuner magazineProject car tuner magazineProject Car Tuner Magazine is a DIY-enthusiast oriented car magazine. The magazine places a strong emphasis on using cars as well as parts that the average reader can afford and modify themselves.- General Information :...
- Sail Magazine
- SLAM MagazineSLAM MagazineSLAM Magazine is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994, published by Source Interlink. SLAM publishes nine issues a year to its circulation of over 500,000 readers worldwide.-History:...
- Soap Opera DigestSoap Opera DigestSoap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
- Soap Opera WeeklySoap Opera WeeklySoap Opera Weekly is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
- Sport Compact CarSport Compact CarSport Compact Car was an American car magazine that lasted from 1988 to 2009. Sport Compact Car focused on modifying and racing sport compacts, usually import model cars. This publication was known for having a more technical approach than most other typical import car magazines and for the...
- StereophileStereophileStereophile is a monthly magazine that focuses on high end audio equipment, such as loudspeakers and amplifiers, and audio-related news, such as online audio streaming. It was founded in 1962 by J. Gordon Holt....
- Super StreetSuper streetSuper street may refer to:*Super Street, an import automotive magazine, published by Primedia.*Superstreet, a type of road intersection which is a variation of the Michigan left....
- Truckin Magazine
- Truck Trend
- Sport Truck
as well as Automotive.com, Intellichoice.com, http://www.apartmentguide.comhttp://www.rentals.com, http://www.newhomeguide.com, http://www.americanhomeguides.com web sites
PRIMEDIA Equestrian Group
- Arabian Horse World
- Dressage Today
- EQUUSEquus (magazine)Equus is a monthly magazine for horse owners that was first published in November 1977.The intent of the magazine is succinctly stated by founding editor and publisher Ami Shinitzky's original working title: The Horseman's Veterinary Journal...
- Horse & RiderHorse & RiderHorse & Rider is a monthly magazine featuring Western riding, training, horse care, equine tack and equipment, horse shows, and trainers, among other subjects. Horse & Rider is published by Active Interest Media. This resource is designed to help all western enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels...
- Practical HorsemanPractical HorsemanPractical Horseman is an equestrian magazine that focuses on English-style riding, most notably, hunter/jumper, as well as dressage and eventing. Known as the "English rider's #1 resource," the magazine has monthly articles on training, riding, turnout of the horse, medical issues, profiles of...
- EquiSearch.com website
PRIMEDIA Action Sports Group
- Bike Magazine
- Bodyboarding Magazine
- Canoe & Kayak Magazine
- Powder MagazinePowder MagazinePowder Magazine, Powder House, or Powderworks may refer to:* Gunpowder magazine*Magazine , the general term-in the United States:* Powder Magazine , listed on the NRHP in Alabama...
- Skateboarder MagazineSkateboarder magazineSkateboarder Magazine was first published in 1964 as a quarterly during the first skateboarding boom by Surfer Publications out of Dana Point, California. After an initial release of only four issues in 1964–65, it ceased publication until the first big skateboard revival of the early 1970s...
- Slam MagazineSLAM MagazineSLAM Magazine is an American basketball magazine in circulation since 1994, published by Source Interlink. SLAM publishes nine issues a year to its circulation of over 500,000 readers worldwide.-History:...
- Snowboarder Magazine
- SurferSurfer (magazine)Surfer magazine is a monthly surfing culture magazine published in San Clemente, California.The magazine was founded by John Severson in 1959 as a program to accompany his yearly surf films...
- Surfing MagazineSurfing MagazineFounded in December 1964, Surfing Magazine is a magazine originally published by Primedia and later by Source Interlink Companies, Inc. As of 2008, the corporate offices are in Norcross, Georgia. Editorial, production, and ad sales function remain in San Clemente, California, close to the same...