Incisive Media is to double the value of its business with the acquisition of financial magazine publisher Risk Waters Group for £35.2m.
The deal involves around 180 staff, 70 of them journalists, and the B2B titles Risk, Asia Risk, Energy & Power Risk Management, Credit and Waters.
It will give Incisive a stronger presence overseas and offices in New York and Hong Kong.
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Incisive Media chief executive Tim Weller said he did not anticipate any redundancies among journalists and said the business fitted well with Incisive’s portfolio. Risk serves the institutional, financial risk and technology markets while Incisive specialises in insurance, mortgages and retail with titles such as Investment Week, Bloomberg Money and Your Mortgage.
The deal, due to be completed by 1 May, will result in a shake-up for Incisive staff. Around 80 staff on titles such as Post magazine, British Journal of Photography and Reinsurance at the Covent Garden offices will move to the Risk headquarters at Haymarket House on Haymarket in London. Staff at its Air Street offices will also transfer in the next few months.
Weller told Press Gazette: “This is a transforming deal for us in that it gives us real depth in the financial markets. It’s a brilliant business, a very high-quality and well-run business.”
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He hinted there might be further takeovers in the future. “We are an aggressive business. We walked from the FT Business magazine acquisition and very quickly moved on this one, so we have got a job to do to integrate this business and deliver the growth we think we can get from it. We want to be well placed to do further acquisitions. This is certainly not the last. It is the first major step in fulfilling our ambitions.” The Risk Waters Group grew out of Risk magazine, founded by former financial journalist Peter Field on behalf of Emap in 1987. Risk was later closed and Field was made redundant before he decided to use £5,000 of his redundancy money to buy the title from Emap a year later. Risk is currently worth £17m and Field will remain as a board director reporting to Weller.
By Ruth Addicott
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