Publishing
Who acquires Publishing companies
30 distinct acquirers across 39 recorded transactions, 2015 to 2026. Every buyer below has completed at least one acquisition in this sector.
Top 10 acquirers of Publishing companies
Ranked by number of acquisitions recorded in this sector, with the year of each buyer's latest one. A buyer that has done this more than once has a thesis, and a thesis is what makes an approach worth making.
| Acquirer | Deals here | Last deal |
|---|---|---|
| Gannett | 5 | 2019 |
| Lee Enterprises | 2 | 2020 |
| Tribune Publishing | 2 | 2016 |
| John Wiley & Sons | 1 | 2026 |
| Hearst Communications | 1 | 2025 |
| ABRY Partners (PE) | 1 | 2023 |
| Transom Capital Group (PE) | 1 | 2021 |
| HarperCollins Publishers LLC | 1 | 2021 |
| Thryv | 1 | 2021 |
| Wiley Edge | 1 | 2021 |
Counted from 39 recorded transactions, 2015 to 2026. Name variants of the same buyer (Inc, Corporation, Ltd) are counted together.
Would these buyers pay for yours?
Put a number on it first: run the free estimate, then the $199 written report sets your range against the Publishing band and the comparable disclosed deals, in a document you can share. If the business is profitable, has $1M or more of revenue and you may sell within two years, talk to our advisory team about which of these buyers would engage, and at what price. The first conversation is free.
Recorded transactions
| Target | Acquirer | Date | Value | EV/EBITDA | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIG Emerald Holding LLC | John Wiley & Sons | 2026-06-01 | $452m | n/d | n/d |
| DallasNews Corporation | Hearst Communications | 2025-09-24 | n/d | n/d | n/d |
| Chambers and Partners | ABRY Partners (PE) | 2023-11-09 | $616m | n/d | n/d |
| Aspen Publishing | Transom Capital Group (PE) | 2021-09-27 | $88m | n/d | n/d |
| HMH Books & Media | HarperCollins Publishers LLC | 2021-03-29 | $349m | n/d | n/d |
| Sensis Pty Ltd. | Thryv | 2021-03-01 | $200m | n/d | n/d |
| Hindawi Ltd. | Wiley Edge | 2021-01-05 | $298m | n/d | n/d |
| Newgen Knowledge Works | Undisclosed | 2020-12-08 | $40m | n/d | n/d |
| BH Media Group Inc. - The Buffalo News & Publications | Lee Enterprises | 2020-01-29 | $140m | n/d | n/d |
| NOW Magazine | Media Central | 2019-12-02 | $2m | n/d | n/d |
| i (newspaper) | DMGT | 2019-11-29 | $76m | n/d | 1.5x |
| Lagardère SCA - Magazine Publishing Titles | Czech Media Invest | 2019-02-15 | $59m | 5.2x | 0.2x |
| Schurz Communications | Gannett | 2019-01-29 | $30m | n/d | n/d |
| Time | Undisclosed | 2018-11-01 | $190m | n/d | n/d |
| I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd. | Bloomsbury Publishing | 2018-05-01 | $9m | n/d | 1.3x |
| Northern & Shell Network Ltd. - Publishing Assets | Undisclosed | 2018-02-09 | $195m | n/d | n/d |
| Tribune Publishing Co. - Los Angeles Times & The San Diego Union-Tribune | NantWorks | 2018-02-07 | $500m | 6.8x | 1.1x |
| Keesing | Apheon (PE) | 2017-07-18 | $169m | n/d | n/d |
| Small Newspaper Group (Dispatch-Argus) | Lee Enterprises | 2017-06-19 | $7m | n/d | n/d |
| Regent Publishing Services Ltd. | Lion Rock Group | 2017-03-23 | $7m | n/d | n/d |
| Wooster Republican Printing Co. - Ohio Publishing Division | Gannett | 2017-01-31 | $21m | n/d | n/d |
| Health Service Journal | Wilmington | 2017-01-19 | $29m | 6.8x | 1.9x |
| Texas Monthly | Genesis Park (PE) | 2016-10-13 | $25m | n/d | n/d |
| becker&mayer! | Quarto Group | 2016-08-08 | $10m | 5.4x | 0.5x |
| APN News - Australian Regional Media | News Corp | 2016-06-22 | $26m | n/d | n/d |
| Norstedts Förlagsgrupp AB | Storytel | 2016-06-22 | $19m | n/d | 0.3x |
| Journal Multimedia | Gannett | 2016-05-02 | $18m | n/d | n/d |
| Gulf Publishing Co. - Energy Publishing Businesses | Delinian | 2016-04-01 | $18m | n/d | n/d |
| Freedom Communications | Orange County Media LLC | 2016-03-17 | $56m | n/d | n/d |
| CitySprint | LDC (PE) | 2016-02-18 | $269m | 10.4x | 1.2x |
| Merrick Media LLC | Tribune Publishing | 2016-02-04 | $44m | 0.3x | n/d |
| Erie Times-News | Gannett | 2016-01-13 | $12m | n/d | n/d |
| Dolan - Business Information Division | Gannett | 2016-01-04 | $35m | n/d | n/d |
| The South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. | Alibaba Group | 2015-12-11 | $100m | n/d | n/d |
| PosterXXL AG | PhotoBox | 2015-07-27 | $387m | n/d | n/d |
| Phoenix Color | ALJ Regional Holdings | 2015-07-12 | $90m | n/d | n/d |
| MLIM LLC | Tribune Publishing | 2015-05-07 | $85m | n/d | n/d |
| Sun Media Corp. | Postmedia | 2015-04-13 | $240m | n/d | n/d |
| Courier Corp. | R.R. Donnelley & Sons | 2015-02-05 | $261m | n/d | n/d |
n/d means not disclosed. Most transactions close without a published multiple, which is why the disclosed count matters more than the median.
Who owns Media & Communications companies
On PEStore, Publishing sits within Media & Communications. PEStore profiles the private equity firms and serial acquirers active there: what they own, how long they have held it, and every deal on record. Underlined acquirers above link to their profiles.
Media & Communications investors and acquirers on PEStoreMultiples across every sector
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