F+W Publications, which publishes specialty magazines including Writer’s Digest and Popular Woodworking, is on the block, The Post has learned.
The company, which is headed by publishing veteran William Reilly and backed by Providence Equity Partners is expected to fetch roughly $600 million, executives familiar with the situation said.
Credit Suisse First Boston, which has been retained to shop the company, began distributing books to potential buyers this week.
Preliminary bids are due in mid-April. Likely bidders range from established industry giants including American Media, Hachette Filipacchi, and Meredith Corp., to cash-flush private equity players who have been hungry for publishing deals.
Among the investment firms expected to look are: the Blackstone Group, Steven Rattner’s Quadrangle Group; Spectrum Equity Investors, which is teamed with ex-Primedia executive Charles McCurdy; The Carlyle Group; Warburg Pincus; Cypress Group, as well as Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist’s Active Media Group.
To help potential buyers fund the deal, Providence has authorized J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to offer potential buyers a debt financing package of 8 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, said industry sources.
F+W generates revenue of roughly $250 million, and Ebitda of about $50 million.
Reilly and Providence CEO Jonathan Nelson could not be reached for comment at press time. F+ W’s collection of specialty consumer titles includes Writer’s Digest, Horticulture, Popular Woodworking, Antique Trader, Scuba Diving, Deer Hunting, Old Cars Weekly, Watercolor Magic, and Turkey & Turkey Hunting.
The potential sale of F+W represents the third major act in the career of Reilly, the co-founder of Primedia who earlier made a fortune building up book publisher Macmillan and then selling it to Robert Maxwell.