The chief executive of Informa, the company behind Lloyd’s List, is to leave the company to head Emap’s business-to-business arm, but a proposed merger of Emap and Incisive Media is on hold, the Times and Telegraph reported this weekend.
Emap Communications was sold to a consortium of Guardian Media Group and the private equity firm Apax for £1.2bn last year. The new owners take formal control this week.
David Gilbertson, a former editor of Lloyd’s List, has been Informa’s chief executive since 1998. He is expected to take over as Emap’s chief executive. Current Emap Communications chief Derek Carter has not been offered another role under the new ownership, The Telegraph reports. Informa chairman Peter Rigby will this week be confirmed as its chief executive, says the Times.
Emap-Incisive on ice?
According to the Telegraph, the credit crunch has forced GMG and Apax to put plans to merge Emap’s B2B arm with Incisive Media (which is also owned by Apax) on hold until market conditions improve.
Incisive boss Tim Weller had been tipped as a possible chief executive for a merged Incisive-Emap. The Times suggests that GMG and Apax may not have been able to agree a valuation for a combined Emap-Incisive, in which the Guardian group had been expected to take a 20-25 per cent stake.
Apax bid for RBI?
Apax, however, could bid for Reed Business Information, which might see it merged with either Emap or Incisive.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
