Bloomberg seeks new opportunities in BusinessWeek buy

Bloomberg chairman Peter Grauer said in a statement that the acquisition included the print magazine and BusinessWeek.com website. “BusinessWeek will be a powerful addition to our portfolio of leading news and information services,” said Grauer. “BusinessWeek is one of the business world’s most recognised and trusted sources of news and insight, and we believe that it will be highly valued by our customers worldwide.”

Although terms have not been disclosed, industry sources close to the deal estimated it to be between US$2 and $5 million, and the transaction is expected to go through by the fourth quarter of this year. According to the New York Times, the title will also be renamed Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

According to one media agency head, the deal was “to be expected” as “distribution models have changed and opened up so BusinessWeek’s reporting style and format comes out a bit short against what the news wires were offering.” 

“The news wires have latched on to BusinessWeek’s style of quick, concise reporting and were doing a better job at distribution of content, for example through smart phones and mobile apps,” the source said.

He added: “Bloomberg has always lacked a magazine so the new title will widen its product offerings and allow it to dabble with in-depth reporting and analysis. It also allows them the chance to introduce Bloomberg to households through a magazine format, as opposed to just targeting corporate executives in offices, who are their predominant audiences.” 

James Chadwick, Mindshare, leader - business planning, Asia-Pacific, noted: “As long as Bloomberg can manage the costs and retain the revenues (of the new title), without losing the quality, this will enhance their platform and extend their reach to a new audience.”

“It's also an interesting deal at two levels. First, it's new territory for Bloomberg to acquire new brands like this, as its growth so far has been organic. Secondly, it's yet another example of a primarily digital, disruptive business succeeding versus a 'hard-copy' content business failing. Bloomberg survives and thrives, and gets a world-class brand for a few million dollars, because it has worked out a business model based on charging for content."

Bloomberg president Daniel Doctoroff had said in an interview before that his company was “buying BusinessWeek to build it” and “to take a venerable brand and turn it into the best global business newsweekly.”

McGraw-Hill, the publisher of BusinessWeek, said in July that it was exploring strategic options for the weekly as advertising sales and circulation had slumped dramatically. The title was rumoured to be on sale for just one dollar.

BusinessWeek's earnings had fallen by 32 per cent in the first nine months of 2009 to $112.6 million from $164.4 million a year earlier. 

According to its website, BusinessWeek commands over 4.7 million readers weekly in 140 countries.