Incisive Media

Incisive Media is a publisher of business media. It is based in London, United Kingdom, with offices in New York and Hong Kong.

History and management

Incisive Media is a business to business (B2B) information and events company founded by Tim Weller, in 1994 with the launch of Investment Week. It acquired Timothy Benn Publishing (owner of Post Magazine) in August 2000.[1] It was listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2000 which valued the business at c. £73m. During the next six years the business completed a number of acquisitions including Matching Hat, Risk Waters, Initiative Europe (Unquote), Search Engine Strategies, Global Professional Media, Asian Venture Capital Journal and Pacific Prospect.

However, as a public company it was difficult to take advantage of some of the larger consolidation opportunities that existed, so in December 2006 Tim Weller led a management buyout deal backed by Apax Partners[2] that valued Incisive Media at £275 million.[3]

Within a few months of going private, Incisive Media completed the acquisitions of MSM International and UK publishing business VNU Business Publications Ltd, formerly part of The Nielsen Company, from venture capital group 3i in 2007.[4] In August 2007 the company completed a $630m deal to acquire ALM, an American magazine publisher that was backed by Bruce Wasserstein, doubling the size of the group again and creating a company with an enterprise value of over $1bn.[3]

However, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the downturn in the financial services market, Incisive Media's markets came under significant pressure and the debt levels were no longer sustainable. In October 2009 Incisive Media announced the refinancing of the Group's debt.[5] ALM was separated from the Group and was Acquired by RBS and Apax Partners. In the same month Incisive Media agreed to a debt-for-equity swap with its lenders.

In January 2015, Incisive Media's lenders agreed a restructuring which saw private equity house Alchemy Partners acquire a majority ownership of the business. The restructure helped reduce Incisive's debts significantly, allowing it to reinvest in the business.

Tim Weller is now Executive Chairman with former Informa and Emap CEO David Gilbertson joining the board of directors as a Non-Executive Director.

In January 2015 Company was reorganised into two divisions Incisive Insight and Incisive Business and launched its Revenue acceleration and investment plan.[6]

The company employs more than 750 people working in London, New York and Hong Kong.

In June 2015 Incisive Media acquired Chartis Research limited founded by Peyman Mestchian. Chartis has a 10-year track record of providing in-depth research and analysis. The London-based firm analyses the systems, products, vendors, applications and trends in the global risk technology market. This analysis is published in flagship industry reports, white papers and research articles.

In September 2015 Incisive Media sold its Private Equity portfolio including AVCJ and Unqoute to Mergermarket Group and in the same month Contentive acquired Accountancy Age and Financial Director.

In January 2016 Legal Week was acquired by leading US publisher ALM, a deal which reunites Legal Week with its former sister company and publisher of titles including The American Lawyer and Corporate Counsel.[7]

Publications

Incisive Media publishes more than 100 titles (in print and online) and offers a range of conferences, events and training products. It provides information and education for professionals working in financial and other professional services, including investment bankers, asset managers, financial advisors, accountants, lawyers, IT professionals and online marketers.[8]

It publishes a range of different magazines which focus on the B2B market, targeting different regions. In the Alternative Assets Division, there are different brands covering private equity in Europe, for example Benelux unquote for the Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg region.

Financial Director

Financial Director magazine (ISSN 0961-2556) is a long-running monthly publication dedicated to the information needs of financial directors.

Within the wider accountancy world, Financial Director magazine is possibly best known for its annual survey of audit fees, which now encompasses both FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies.[9]

Other publications

The group's publications include:

Magazines

Journals

Websites

Awards

The group received five nominations for the June 2010 Association of Online Publishers awards,[11] and was voted Digital Publisher of the Year. Also it received the same award in 2013 [12]

References

  1. ↑ Timothy Benn Publishing to merge with City Financial Communications.
  2. ↑ "Incisive Media investors hope Apax bid will trigger auction". The Guardian. 22 September 2006.
  3. 1 2 "Incisive Media purchases US publisher ALM". The Guardian. 5 July 2007.
  4. ↑ "Incisive to buy VNU Business Publications". Daily Telegraph. February 6, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Incisive Media reaches agreement on refinancing of the Group Incisive press release" (Press release). 8 September 2009.
  6. ↑ http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/incisive-weller-alchemy-restructure-debt
  7. ↑ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/content/us-publisher-alm-acquires-legal-week-incisive-media
  8. ↑ "Incisive Media - history page".
  9. ↑ "Audit fees and surveys". London and Milton Keynes, United Kingdom: Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales. 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Dominguez, Martin (3 September 2009). "Incisive Media to split in two as UK operation falters". Press Gazette. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  11. ↑ "Nominations for AOP awards". The Guardian. 23 April 2010.
  12. ↑ "2010 AOP Award Winners". ukaop.org.uk.

External links

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