RentPath

For the South African media group, see Primedia Broadcasting

RentPath, LLC

Type	Private
Founded	1989
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Key people	Mark Lefar (CEO)
Owner	TPG Capital, Providence Equity Partners
Website	www.rentpath.com

RentPath Inc. is a privately held US-American media company owned by TPG Capital and Providence Equity Partners LLC.

Organized in 1989 as K-III Communications Corporation by private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the company made a series of acquisitions of niche publications under Bill Reilly's leadership in the 1990s. The firm went public in 1995, selling stock 15 million shares at approximately $12 per share, in a deal that left Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with control of 82.2% of the company's shares.^[1] The firm adopted the Primedia name as of November 18, 1997 to more clearly focus on its core business.^[2] Primedia sold a group of 17 outdoor-oriented magazines to InterMedia Outdoors for $170 million in cash, in a deal that included Guns and Ammo and Fly Fisherman.^[3] In 2007 Primedia sold its Enthusiast Media division to Source Interlink in a deal that netted Primedia $1.15 billion in cash in exchange for a group of more than 70 magazines, including Motor Trend and Soap Opera Digest and 90 consumer web sites. The deal left Primedia to focus on a series of free print and online consumer guides published by its Consumer Source unit.^[4]

In 2011, private equity firm TPG Capital bought Primedia for $525 million.^[5] In 2013, the company changed its name to RentPath.^[6]

In 2014, Providence Equity Partners LLC acquired 50% of the company.^[7]

In July 2015, former CEO of AutoTrader, Chip Perry, was named president and CEO of RentPath. He succeeded Charles Stubbs who has remained on the RentPath board of directors.^[8]

In November 2015, Chip Perry stepped down as president and CEO of RentPath, to take over as CEO of TrueCar. ^[9]

RentPath's CFO, Kim Payne, has stepped in as interim president and CEO as of November 2015. ^[10]

RentPath named Marc P. Lefar as President and CEO on April 4, 2016.^[11][12]

Timeline

• 1989 – Founded as K-III Communications, a new venture financed by the investment group Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts and Co.
• 1989 – Purchased Intertec Publishing, Macmillan Book Clubs (renamed Newbridge Communications), and Gryphon Editions from Macmillan and Webb Publishing from Maxwell Communications^[13]
• 1990 - Acquired Ward's from Thomson Corporation^[14]
• 1990 – Purchased business publications of Andrews Communications
• 1990 – Acquired Readers Garden, operator of special interest book clubs
• 1990 – Acquired Weekly Reader and Funk & Wagnalls from Marshall Field 5th
• 1991 – Purchased 9 magazines from News Corporation for $600 million.^[15]
  • Daily Racing Form
  • Soap Opera Digest
  • Soap Opera Weekly
  • New York
  • Seventeen
  • Premiere
  • European Travel & Life
  • Automobile
  • New Woman
• 1992 – Acquired medical publisher Krames
• 1992 - Acquired Films for the Humanities & Sciences^[16]
• 1993 – Acquired three magazines from Wiesner
• 1993 – Acquired World Almanac from Scripps
• 1994 – Acquired Stagebill
• 1994 – Acquired Katharine Gibbs
• 1994 – Acquired Haas Publishing, now Consumer Source Inc.
• 1995 – Went public
• 1995 – Acquired Chicago from Landmark Communications
• 1995 – Acquired McMullen & Yee Publishing, a publisher of automotive magazine^[17]
• 1996 – Acquired 14 publications from Cahners Consumer Magazines
• 1996 – Acquired Pro Football Weekly
• 1996 – Acquired Westcott Communications^[18] (later renamed Primedia Workplace Learning)
• 1997 – Acquired Intellichoice
• 1997 – Sold Krames to Times Mirror
• 1997 – New Woman sold to Rodale
• 1997 – Katharine Gibbs sold to Career Education Corporation
• 1997 – Acquires Park Avenue Publishing, publisher of Lowrider^[19]
• 1997 – Changed name to Primedia Inc.
• 1998 – Acquires Cowles Enthusiast Media and Cowles Business Media divisions of Cowles Media Company from McClatchy Newspapers^[20]
• 1998 – Daily Racing Form sold to private investors
• 1998 – Stagebill sold to Fred B. Tarter
• 1998 – Newbridge Communications sold to Doubleday Direct
• 1998 – Acquired Sterling/MacFadden's teen magazines and teen publisher Laufer Publishing
• 1999 – Primedia's education unit (Weekly Reader, World Almanac) sold to Ripplewood Holdings
• 1999 – Acquired Multimedia Publishing
• 1999 – Sold Better Nutrition, Southwest Art, and Vegetarian Times to Sabot Publishing^[21][22]
• 2000 – Acquired About.com
• 2001 – Purchased EMAP's US magazines (formerly Petersen Publishing)
• 2001 – Closed Country Journal
• 2002 – Modern Bride sold to Condé Nast Publications
• 2002 – Pro Football Weekly sold to Arkush family
• 2002 – Chicago sold to Tribune Company
• 2002 – American Baby sold to Meredith Corporation
• 2003 – Volleyball, Teddy Bear and Friends and Doll Reader sold to Ashton International Media^[23]
• 2003 – Seventeen sold to Hearst Corporation
• 2003 – New York sold to Bruce Wasserstein
• 2003 – Tiger Beat and Bop sold to Laufer Media
• 2003 – Kitplanes sold to Belvoir Publications^[24]
• 2003 – Simba Information sold to R.R. Bowker^[25]
• 2004 – Sold Folio: and Circulation Management to Red 7 Media^[26]
• 2005 – About.com sold to The New York Times Company
• 2005 – Sold business information segment (ex-Intertec^[27]) to private investors Wasserstein & Co. (later merged with Penton Media)
• 2005 - Sold Ward's to Prism Business Media^[28]
• 2006 – Sold history magazines to Weider History Group^[29]
• 2006 – Sold Crafts Group to Sandler Capital Management^[30]
• 2006 - Sold Outdoor Group to InterMedia Partners^[31]
• 2007 – Sold Enthusiast Media group (containing the vast majority of Primedia's magazines) to Source Interlink, controlled by Ronald Burkle, for $1.2 billion.^[32]
• 2007 – Sold Gems group to Interweave^[33]
• 2007 – Sold Climbing to Skram Media^[34]
• 2007 - Sold Films for the Humanities & Sciences to Infobase Publishing^[35]
• 2007 – Sold Channel One News to Alloy Media and Marketing
• 2008 – Sold South Florida Auto Guide and Wisconsin Auto Guide to TargetMedia Partners; closes Atlanta Auto Guide
• 2009 – Closes Today's Custom Home
• 2011 – TPG Capital acquires company
• 2012 – Acquires rent.com from eBay for an undisclosed amount.^[36]
• 2014 - Acquires San Francisco startup Lovely for $13 million.^[37]
• 2014 - Providence Equity Partners LLC becomes an equal partner with TPG Capital.^[38]

Former Major Primedia Titles (magazines are now part of Source Interlink)

• 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility Magazine
• Automobile Magazine
• Car Craft
• Dirt Rider
• Four Wheeler
• Home Theater
• Hot Bike
• Hot Rod Magazine
• JP Magazine
• Lowrider Magazine
• Mini Truckin Magazine
• Modified Magazine
• Mopar Muscle Magazine
• Motorcyclist
• Motor Trend
• Mustang Monthly
• Peterson's 4-Wheel & Off Road
• Power & Motoryacht
• Project car tuner magazine
• Sail Magazine
• SLAM Magazine
• Soap Opera Digest
• Soap Opera Weekly
• Sport Compact Car
• Stereophile
• Super Street
• Truckin Magazine
• Truck Trend
• Sport Truck

as well as Automotive.com, Intellichoice.com, , , web sites

Primedia Equestrian Group

• Arabian Horse World
• Dressage Today
• EQUUS
• Horse & Rider
• Practical Horseman
• EquiSearch.com website

Primedia Action Sports Group

• Bike Magazine
• Bodyboarding Magazine
• Box Inline Skate Magazine
• Canoe & Kayak Magazine
• Powder Magazine
• Skateboarder Magazine
• Slam Magazine
• Snowboarder Magazine
• Surfer
• Surfing Magazine

References

1. via Reuters. "K-III's Initial Stock Offering", The New York Times, October 7, 1995. Accessed October 23, 2008.
2. Staff. "K-III's New Name To Be 'Primedia'", The New York Times, November 1, 1997. Accessed October 23, 2008.
3. Sorkin, Andrew Ross. "InterMedia to Buy Primedia’s Outdoor Magazines", The New York Times, December 7, 2006. Accessed October 23, 2008.
4. via Reuters. "Magazine Publisher Is Selling Special-Interest Unit for $1.15 Billion", The New York Times, May 15, 2007. Accessed October 23, 2008.
5. Lattman, Peter (May 16, 2011). "After 22 Years — 22 Years! — K.K.R. Is Exiting Primedia". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
6. Primedia Changes Name to RentPath
8. "Former AutoTrader CEO Chip Perry named RentPath CEO". Biz Journals. Biz Journals. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
9. http://www.autonews.com/article/20151123/OEM02/151129953/chip-perry-truecars-new-ceo-seeks-to-rebuild-dealers-trust
10. http://www.rentpath.com/leadership-team/
11. http://www.rentpath.com/marc-lefar-new-rentpath-ceo/
12. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-lefar-6b42657
13. "THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Macmillan and Maxwell Sell Four Units to Kohlberg". The New York Times. 1988-12-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
14. "K-III to Buy Automotive Industry Publisher Ward's Communications". Associated Press. 1990-05-07. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
15. Variety Staff. "K-III Bid Wins Murdoch Mags". Variety. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
16. "K-III COMMUNICATIONS BUYS EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS COMPANY - Free Online Library". Retrieved 2014-08-23.
17. K-III acquires Automotive-Truck 'Enthusiast' publisher McMullen & Yee
18. http://www.westcott.com/
19. Spotlight: McMullen Argus Buys Park Avenue Publishing
20. "Primedia To Acquire Cowles Magazines, Newsletters and Trade Shows 25 Enthusiast Titles, 11 Technical and Trade Magazines, and 15 Trade Shows Included in Transaction" (Press release). PR Newswire. January 9, 1998. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
21. Deals-Southwest Art
22. Alberto Move From Lois A Beauty For Tatham
23. "Transactions from 2002". Retrieved 11 September 2012.
24. KITPLANES Joins AVweb Under Belvoir
25. R.R. Bowker Acquires Simba Information
26. Primedia Sells Folio, Circulation Management
27. "Primedia Business Information Profile". Media Owners. Retrieved 2007-02-16.
28. "PRIMEDIA's Wards Automotive Magazines Sold to Prism Media". Retrieved 2015-04-24.
29. Weider Purchases History Magazines From Primedia
30. "BREAKING NEWS: Primedia To Sell Crafts Group for $132 Million - M and A and Finance @ FolioMag.com". Retrieved 2014-08-25.
31. "Primedia To Sell Outdoor Group - M and A and Finance @ FolioMag.com". Retrieved 2014-08-25.
32. "Burkle's Source Agrees to Buy Primedia Magazine Group".
33. Interweave Press Buys Primedia's Gems Group
34. Primedia Unclips Climbing
35. Content, Library Journal Archive. "Infobase Buys Films Media Group". Library Journal. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
36. FitzGerald, Drew. "EBay Sells Rent.com Website To Primedia". Dow Jones Newswires. Retrieved 22 March 2012.

External links

• Primedia corporate web site