LONDON (Brand Republic) - The Future Network is closing down the UK and European editions of its business title Business 2.0, after failing to find a buyer.
Future had appointed Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in February to look for a buyer or a joint venture in an effort to secure a future for the magazine. After failing to do so, the UK, German and Italian editions will now be shut down.The company is also closing its entire German operation, Future Verlag, which generated losses of DM 0.5m (£6.4m) on revenues of DM 22.5m (£7m) last year. Future Verlag is expected to make losses of DM 9.4m (£2.9m) for the current financial year on revenues for the period of around DM 7.7m (£2.5m).
Future said it would continue to seek for a buyer or partner for the US version of Business 2.0. It is understood to have been in negotiations with AOL Time Warner for some time. AOL鈥檚 magazine group Time Inc publishes its own new-economy magazine and it is believed that Business 2.0 would be merged into this magazine if a sale to AOL went ahead.
In a statement, Future said that the 鈥渄ownturn in the advertising market in the business sector has adversely impacted Business 2.0 in Europe鈥. Costs of closing the UK and Italian editions of Business 2.0 are estimated to be about £1m, in addition to a one-off charge of DM 2.5m (£0.8m) for the closure of Future Verlag.
www.thefuturenetwork.plc.uk
Future closes Business 2.0 in UK and Europe
The Future Network is closing down the UK and European editions of its business title Business 2.0, after failing to find a buyer.