According to The Telegraph the business publisher Centaur has been forced to abandon the sale of its flagship title, The Lawyer, after a lengthy sale process failed to secure the price it sought.
Its failure is a blow to attempts by chief executive Andria Vidler to reposition Centaur as a provider of data and business information to the marketing sector. Former rival publishers such as Ascential and the giant Relx have successfully executed similar shifts as the traditional advertising that sustained trade magazines has evaporated in line with the decline of print media.
The Lawyer, an industry bible for the legal profession, was the last of a string of titles put up for sale by Centaur.
The failure to offload it means Xeim, the newly rebranded marketing business comprising brands such as Econsultancy and Marketing Week, is saddled with an unrelated but financially significant asset.
Sources close to the sale process said that Centaur had hoped to attract bids of more than £40m for The Lawyer, which generates annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of about £4m from a combination of advertising, subscriptions, events and data.