Exponent sells Immediate Media to Hubert Burda in £270m deal

Spokespeople for Hubert Burda and Exponent declined to comment on the valuation, though unquote" understands the deal values Immediate Media at around the £270m mark, equivalent to around 7.3x its most recent publicly available EBITDA figure.

The investment has generated a profit for Exponent, though a spokesperson for the GP declined to provide details of returns. The firm was invested in Immediate Media via its £400m first fund and its £805m second fund, the spokesperson confirmed.

The sale will see Hubert Burda wholly acquire Immediate Media after a five-year holding period for Exponent.

Under the GP's tenure, Immediate Media has grown by investing in the development of its technology and online presence. It has also expanded into the e-commerce space, launching digital wedding planning platform Hitched.co.uk and TV shopping network JewelleryMaker.

The acquirer already owns UK-based consumer publications including YourHome and Wedding, in addition to recently leading an investment round for online marketplace NotOnTheHighstreet.com.

Previous funding
Exponent purchased BBC Worldwide's consumer magazine business BBC Magazines in August 2011 for £121m. It then merged the company with online publishing business Magicalia and Origin Publishing, before rebranding the consolidated group as Immediate Media.

Company
Founded in 2011 and headquartered in London, Immediate Media publishes a number of consumer magazines including the Radio Times, Top Gear and Cycling Plus. According to publicly available records, the business generated EBITDA of £37m in the year ending March 2016.

People
Immediate Media – Tom Bureau (CEO).
Hubert Burda – Paul-Bernhard Kallen (CEO).

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• Exits
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• Media
• United Kingdom
• Exponent Private Equity
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