The Radio Times, Britain’s best-known television listings magazine, will be sold this week to one of Germany’s biggest media groups in a £260m deal.
Sky News has learnt that Hubert Burda, which publishes the YourHome and Wedding lifestyle magazines, is putting the finishing touches to a takeover of Immediate Media, which has been owned by Exponent Private Equity since 2011.
Immediate was formed by Exponent’s merger of BBC Magazines and two other publishers – Magicalia and Origin – as part of an attempt to consolidate a still-fragmented consumer publishing industry.
Since acquiring the businesses, Exponent has sought to expand its online presence, while diversifying brands such as the Radio Times into major events.