The French division was finally off-loaded for £375m, and the sale means that Mondadori will take control of around 50 magazines including French versions of FHM, Closer, Top Sante, Sport Auto and several science, nature and hobby titles.
Mondadori is a media group owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The group owns 50% stakes in Italian offshoots of international magazine publishers Gruner & Jahr, Hearst and Rodale. Its other activities include book publishing, printing and radio.
Circulation and advertising revenue difficulties at the French division's TV listings magazines are believed to have contributed to Emap's decision to sell.
Tom Moloney, group chief executive of Emap, said: "Emap will now be allocating more resource including launch spend, onto faster growth platforms. The sale of Emap France is in line with this strategy and also allows us to return to shareholders a significant proportion of the value created during our period as a French consumer magazine publisher.
"Emap France is a well-positioned business, which will continue to grow and prosper under new ownership. We wish our former colleagues and their new owners Mondadori, with whom we enjoy a strong collaborative relationship, every commercial success in the future."
Following the completion of the transaction, Emap plans to return a total of £285m, or £1 a share, approximately 75% of the proceeds gained from the sale, to shareholders.
The sale is not the first time the company has sold foreign titles. Emap bought Petersen in 1998 for £720m, selling the company two years later at a huge loss to Primedia. The deal is reported to have cost Emap £545m.
European regulators must now approve the sale.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
