Emap Acquires Golf Titles

EMAP has bought three UK golf titles from The New York Times for £11.25m cash. Emap is buying Golf World, Golf Weekly and the trade publication Golf Industry News, as well as the rights to re-publish articles from the US company’s Golf Digest Title. EMAP outbid IPC for the titles.

EMAP already owns Today’s Golfer and Fore!; the acquisitions mean EMAP will own a substantial part of the golfing market, with IPC owning the other major title, Golf Monthly. Emap also owns two golfing titles in France.

The three acquired titles had sales of £5.6m between them in 1993, and were “marginally loss-making”, but Barry Dennis, head of Emap pursuit said the company was confident the golf market was set for continued growth.

IPC, who had in July signed agreements with New York Times to buy the three titles, said that they had been contacted on August 10 by NYT, and given 36 hours to quadruple its previously agreed offer. IPC believed this to be unrealistic, and pulled out of the acquisition.