Publishers of Cottage Life sell a share to television and digital startup Blue Ant Media

Quarto Communications, the publishers of Cottage Life, explore, Canadian Home Workshop and Outdoor Canada, has sold 15% of the company to Blue Ant Media Inc, a new company recently launched by Michael MacMillan, the former executive chairman of Alliance Atlantis. Blue Ant has the option to increase its stake to 24.5% within a year. The value of the investment was not released.According to a joint

Meredith acquires Eating Well and online properties; launches recipe and coupon site

[This post has been updated]
A magazine publishing giant has expanded its footprint in the food category by gobbling up a successful mid-sized player and launching a new food-related website. Meredith Corp. has purchased the Vermont-based EatingWell Media Group, publishers of Eating Well magazine and its related online products. The takeover also coincides with the launch by Meredith of

Torstar's Star Media Group buys startup digital beauty magazine The Kit

The Kit, a startup digital beauty and wellness magazine created by former St. Joseph Media staff has been purchased by Star Media Group (Toronto Star).“We searched diligently for the best women’s lifestyle play for our audiences and advertisers,” Edward Greenspon, vice president of business development for Star Media Group and the Toronto Star, said in a release. “We liked what we saw in The

Glacier Media buys a third of Rogers Publishing's b2b magazine properties

[This post has been updated]In what is a major rationalization of b2b publishing in Canada, Glacier Media Inc has announced the purchase of  15 trade magazines from Rogers Publishing Limited as well as associated digital properties, trade shows and databases that were key parts of its business and professional publishing group. This is about one-third of the Rogers business and professional

Vice magazine sells minority share to finance its jets

We thought it was already supersonic. Vice magazine co-founder Shane Smith told the New York Times that it was time "to turn on the jets". Which is why the magazine raised "in the high eight figures" by selling a minority share to MTV founder Tom Freston, ad firm WPP and The Raine Group. The deal, according to the Times, was brokered by super-agent Ari Emanuel. The hipster culture magazine, which

Hearst set to announce $900 million deal for Lagardere portfolio

Hearst Publishing is expected to announce as early as Monday that it is paying French publishing house Lagardere $900 million for its portfolio of international magazines, according to a story in the New York Post.Lagardere, whose US unit Hachette Filipacchi publishes such titles as Elle, Woman’s Day and Car and Driver, and Hearst, publisher of Cosmopolitan and Esquire, are expected to announce

Torontoist finds "the perfect home" with its purchase by Toronto Life publisher

[This post has been updated]The Torontoist blog has been purchased by St. Joseph Media, the publishers of Toronto Life. The sale and purchase was announced late Monday evening in a joint press release from the two companies, also reported by a story on the Globe and Mail website. It's not known what this means to the content partnership of the online-only Torontoist with the Globe which has been

Natural Life magazine picks up subs of closing U.S. title Mothering

Natural Life magazine, published by Toronto-based Life Media, is fulfilling the unused subscriptions of the3 U.S.-based Mothering magazine, which has closed. Subscribers are offered the choice of waiting for the May-June issue of Natural Life or getting a digital sub on a 2-for-1 basis. Natural Life and its companion publications Life Learning Magazine and Natural Parenting Business magazine are

Folio: magazine publisher Red 7 purchased by min weekly's publisher Access Intelligence

Access Intelligence of Rockland, Maryland, the publishers of the high-priced media and marketing newsletter min, has purchased Red 7 Media, the owner of Folio: magazine, the magazine for magazine management. With the acquisition will come a new division, combining the Folio: and min brands, under the leadership of Red 7 Media CEO Kerry Smith and his senior management team; he becomes senior

Hearst buys Lagardère international magazine portfolio for €651 million

February 2011
Hearst Corporation has made the deal. It has, after several months of heavy speculation, announced its purchase of  the international press and magazine business of the French company Lagardère SCA for €651 million (about $895 million). The binding cash deal includes 102 Lagardère titles in 15 countries plus some 50 websites and various tablet and mobile apps. (Lagardère is

Halifax's Metro Guide Publishing sold to its printer, Advocate Printing & Publishing

Metro Guide Publishing of Halifax has been sold to its printer, the Pictou-based Advocate Printing & Publishing Company, expanding the printer into the glossy print media market Advocate CEO Sean Murray confirmed the sale Monday, according to a story in the New Glasgow News. 

Blair-Reid
Sole owner Sheila Blair-Reid, who has owned the 42-year-old company for the past 21 years, wanted to allow

VP Niel Hiscox buys CLB Media name and its automotive titles

Niel Hiscox, the rangy vice-president at CLB Media, confirms that he is negotiating to buy the company name and its automotive titles from the rapidly breaking-up publishing group, according to a story in Masthead. Once the recently announced deal with Annex Publishing and Printing goes through, involving the remaining titles in the CLB stable after Thomson Reuters bought Law Times, Canadian

Ottawa Business Journal and related magazines sold by Transcon to local media group

Transcontinental Media has, in recent years, been better known as an acquirer than a divestor of media properties. However it has decided to sell Ottawa Business Journal and related magazines and events to a local magazine and newspaper publishing group made up of current and former executives of the publication. According to an article on the OBJ's website, Mark Sutcliffe, one of the founders

Carswell acquires Canadian Lawyer and Law Times as part of Canada Law Book deal

[This post has been UPDATED]Although it has not been Now confirmed by Thomson Reuters, the sale of Canada Law Book to Carswell (see previous post) appears to includeincludes the four law-related magazine titles published by the CLB Media division of The Cartwright Group. This means that Canadian Lawyer, Canadian Lawyer InHouse, Canadian Lawyer 4Students and Law Times have all changed hands. (

Rogers Media buys internet advertising network BV! Media for $25 million

Rogers Media is gaining access to more than 400 online publishers and a potential audience of 15 million unique visitors a month with its purchase of BV! Media, a Quebec-based internet advertising network. According to a story from the Canadian Press, the friendly deal was for $25 million in cash, or about 40 cents a share. BV! is publisher of the news and information portal Branchez-Vous! Claude

Thomson Reuters buys Canada Law Book

[This post has been updated] Thomson Reuters has acquired Canada Law Book, a division of The Cartwright Group Ltd., which also owns the b2b magazine publisher CLB Media. According to a press release, Canada Law Book will now be aligned with Thomson Reuters' Carswell division, headquartered in Toronto. Both companies provide legal scholarship and information.

Don Van Meer, the president and CEO

Coast Publishing acquired Duly Noted Wedding Guide

Coast Publishing Limited of Halifax has acquired Duly Noted Wedding Guide, a twice-annual title that has been around for about seven years. By so doing, it opened up a whole new area of revenue for the company."We are excited about all the possibilities this opens up to us," says Christine Oreskovich, publisher for Coast Publishing in a release. "Lots of Coast readers get married, and we've

Neilsen said to be selling Mediaweek, Billboard, Adweek and The Hollywood Reporter

Neilsen Business Media is reportedly selling Mediaweek, Billboard, Brandweek, Adweek and The Holywood Reporter to News Communications Inc., according to a post on The Wrap. The papers -- part of a stable of 41 trade titles in the Neilsen business media division -- have been on the market since last year. 

News Communications Inc. is owned by James Finkelstein, who was the founder of the National

BusinessWeek magazine sold to Bloomberg LP

BusinessWeek, once one of the most robust and respected -- if conservative -- magazines in the U.S. has been sold to Bloomberg L.P. by parent McGraw-Hill Companies. According to a story in Folio:, the deal includes the 80-year-old title, its website BusinessWeek.com, an online news and information service, SmallBiz magazine and an event and show arm BusinessWeek Events.
McGraw-Hill chairman,

Bloomberg LP front runner in purchase of BusinessWeek

It looks as though BusinessWeek magazine willsoon be sold by parent McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. to Bloomberg LP. At least that's what its own senior management is hoping, according to a report from Reuters. A deal still could take weeks, or could fall apart because of depressed magazine advertising and uncertainty in the financing market; but BusinessWeek executives think that Bloomberg would be the