Struggling publisher Bonhill has agreed to sell its UK and Asia divisions to business-to-business media group Mark Allen, in a deal worth £6.5million.
The sale will include its custom content creation arm, Bonhill Create, as well as its publications aimed at fund managers, including Portfolio Adviser, Expert Investor, Fund Selector Asia and ESG Clarity.
The deal, which now needs to be approved by Bonhill shareholders, follows last week’s announcement of a separate £5.4million offer for its American arm, InvestmentNews, from an unnamed buyer.
Magazines for fund managers such as Portfolio Adviser and Expert Investor are being sold
Mark Allen, founder and executive chairman of his eponymous company, said the deal was ‘very significant’ for his family-owned group.
‘We are inheriting some fantastic brands, which we aim to develop further with the help of an excellent and professional team of around 50 people globally,’ he said today.
‘Wealth management and financial services is an area of considerable interest and will add to the array of sectors in which we operate.
‘The acquisition also gives us a foothold in Singapore and Hong Kong, an area of the world where we have long wanted to have a presence.’
Mark Allen Group owns an array of B2B titles in several sectors – from healthcare, education and music to aviation, telecommunications and HR.
London-based Bonhill produces magazines and online publications for wealth managers, and organises events for the financial sector.
Bonhill assets will be placed in a new company, MA Financial Media, with Bonhill chief executive, Patrick Ponsford, becoming the head of the new company.
Ponsford said the deal will help Bonhill rebuild and grow the business after ‘a difficult few years’, during which Covid hit the company’s events division.
‘It’s a pleasure to be taking our set of market leading brands to be part of a thoroughbred B2B media company that truly understands what we do and how we do it,’ Ponsford said.
‘Being part of this bigger group with access to new technology and data platforms will help us accelerate our growth plans.
‘It’s been a difficult few years with Covid impacting our considerable events portfolio and a new home will help us rebuild and grow the business.’
Assuming shareholders approve the offer, this will be the fourth deal the Mark Allen Group has clinched this financial year.
The first of these was the acquisition of Regen, an exhibition, conference and networking event for the regeneration industry based in Liverpool.
This was followed by the acquisition of EMEX, a net zero and energy management expo.
In November it bought Sterling Events, another Liverpool-based company, which organises exhibitions for the healthcare sector.
Mark Allen’s latest audited accounts up to March 2022 show turnover of £60million, an increase of 37 per cent from the year before, and pre-tax profit of £9.3million, up 54 per cent from the previous year.
Bonhill announced a strategic review in October after warning it would slump to a loss as clients increasingly cut back on marketing spend.
