Categories: OLD Media Moves

PCWorld owner in talks to sell for more than $1 billion

The owner of PCWorld and other publications is in talks to sell to Chinese investors for more than $1 billion, reports Liana B. Baker of Reuters.

Baker writes, “While the parties are in advanced discussions, no deal is finalized and talks could fall apart at any time, the people cautioned.

“IDG, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, declined to comment. Shong could not immediately be reached for comment.

“Founded in 1964, IDG has grown to be one of the largest global trade publishers, with hundreds of tech-focused websites and magazines. Its charismatic founder and longtime CEO, Pat McGovern, died two years ago.

“IDG said in January that its board of directors hired investment bank Goldman Sachs to explore strategic options. Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

“McGovern was very early to see the importance of China, and IDG has been doing business there since 1980, when it launched ComputerWorld China.

“IDG has traditionally pursued a licensing model in which overseas publishing partners have broad latitude in what type of content they produce. That, in addition to IDG’s focus on business rather than politics, helped the company get an early foothold in China and steer clear of press restrictions.”

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Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.