Following a report in the Wall Street Journal this morning, speculation is rife that IPC may be in talks with AOL Time Warner regarding a possible buy out. Although IPC Media has repeatedly denied that it is up for sale, chief executive Sly Bailey recently acknowledged the possibility of a sale or flotation “within the next 12 to 18 months”.
AOL Time Warner is thought to be seeking to expand overseas and Time Inc, the company’s magazine division, has recently become ‘an aggressive aquirer of magazines’ according to the report in the WSJ. IPC, the UK’s largest consumer magazine group, would be a valuable asset to the group, which is trying to establish a foothold in Europe.
Figures quoted range from £850 million to £1.1 billion depending on how the company is valued and this is thought to be the sticking point in negotiations.
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