Another BusinessWeek bidder emerges; staff favors Wasserstein

Jon Fine of BusinessWeek writes that another bidder for BusinessWeek has come forward.

Fine reports, “ZelnickMedia, a private equity firm that’s long sought out distressed media assets for turnaround, was one of nine companies that have attended the management presentations offered to interested parties, say executives familiar with the matter. (Those interested parties can now perform deeper-dive due diligence on BusinessWeek’s detailed financial and operating information that McGraw-Hill is providing.) In a brief email exchange, Jim Friedlich, a partner at ZelnickMedia, declined to comment.

“ZelnickMedia, founded and run by former President-CEO of the Bertelsmann-owned record label BMG Entertainment Strauss Zelnick, owns stakes in video game company Take Two software, infomercial company Cannella Response Television, and the Tokyo-based music company Columbia Music Entertainment, among others.

“A McGraw-Hill spokesman would not make any comment beyond the two-sentence statement the company issued on July 13 confirming it was ‘exploring strategic options’ for BusinessWeek.”

Read more here. Fine notes that the BusinessWeek staff favors a bid by Bruce Wasserstein.Â