BridgeTower Media buys Virginia Business

BridgeTower Media, which owns business publications across the country, has acquired Virginia Business magazine for an undisclosed amount.

“We’re just real excited about the acquisition,” said BridgeTower CEO Hal Cohen.  “It adds to the growing portfolio of the brands at BridgeTower.”

In September 2009, Virginia Business publisher Bernie Niemeier led a private equity-funded purchase of the publication from Media General Inc. The magazine has operated as an independent publication since then.

“Hal and the BridgeTower Media team demonstrate again and again that they know exactly how to help media properties thrive in today’s digital world,” said Niemeier in a statement. “I made this decision thoughtfully, and I know my team is in good hands.”

Founded in 1986, the monthly magazine has won many awards for its reporting. Virginia Business is read by more than 88,000 individuals, including top executives and state and local political leaders, on a monthly basis.

Eighty-seven percent of its subscribers are college graduates, and 41% of readers have a median household income of over $250,000.

“It is all about growth and taking a brand that does a great job in print with their monthly magazine and online and enhancing the capabilities,” said Cohen.

In February, BridgeTower acquired ColoradoBiz for an undisclosed amount.

BridgeTower Media is a portfolio company of Transom Capital Group, a private equity firm. Its publications include the Charleston Regional Business Journal, Finance & Commerce in Minneapolis, the Idaho Business Review, Long Island Business News and the Rochester Business Journal.