PRIMEDIA SELLS <i>MOTOR TREND, AUTOMOBILE, HOT ROD</i> MAGAZINES

Magazine publisher Primedia said on Monday it will sell its Enthusiast Media division, which includes popular automotive magazines like Motor Trend, Automobile, and Hot Rod, to Source Interlink for $1.2 billion. According to a Reuters report, the all-cash deal is expected to close in the third quarter and will zero out Primedia’s debt.

Source Interlink, based in Bonita Springs, Florida, distributes magazines, CDs, DVDs and other entertainment products to over 110,000 retail locations throughout North America, and is part of billionaire investor Ron Burkle’s private equity firm, Yucaipa Companies.

Primedia’s Enthusiast Media group includes more than 70 magazines and 90 websites. Once completed, the deal will leave Primedia with its Consumer Source business, which publishes free consumer guides.

Sources:
-“Source Interlink to Buy Primedia Unit for $1.2 billion,” Micheal Flaherty, Caroline Humer, Reuters.com, 5/14/07

-“Burkle’s Source Agrees to Buy Primedia Magazine Group,”
Leon Lazaroff, Bloomberg.com, 5/14/07