Jason Fell of Folio reports that executive editors Maria Valdez Haubrich and Karen Axelton have left Entrepreneur magazine in the wake of the hiring of a new editor.
Fell writes, “These exits come as Entrepreneur Media is said to have completed the final bidding stage of its acquisition and has moved to the due diligence phase with a Boston-based private equity firm, sources who are familiar with the process tell FOLIO:. Talks have slowed recently, according to the sources, due to the recent departures and challenges in the financing market. As long as the talks continue, sources say the deal could be finalized as early as mid- to late-July.
“Entrepreneur went to market in February with the first round of bids having come in April. The asking price reportedly is $200 million—translating to a multiple three times revenue, since Entrepreneur Media is about a $60 million company. Financial-services firm A.G. Edwards as well as Dow Jones, R.H. Donnelley and USA Today were said to have interest in acquiring the company.
“Entrepreneur’s first quarter ad revenues were $25.4 million, down about 6 percent from the same period in 2007, according to Publishers Information Bureau figures. Ad pages were down 7.2 percent.”
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