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March 08, 2006

Acquisition Market Heats Up

The M&A market for the content industry continues to be strong.  VNU today announced that it has accepted an $8.9 Billion offer from a private equity consortium, which translates to 13.4X EBITDA, a pretty nice multiple for this industry.   The consortium includes all the typical players, including Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR, Thomas Lee, Hellman & Friedman and AlpInvest Partners.
VNU was forced into position to sell after its proposed acquisition of IMS Health failed.

At the same time, PaidContent is reporting that the list of suitors for Knight Ridder has been narrowed to three: McClatchy Newspapers, a joint effort by Gannett and MediaNews Group, and another private equity consortium led by Thomas Lee Partners.  Final bids, due Thursday, are rumored to be in the $5-6 Billion range.  That seems like a high premium for a company that will need significant investment in the years to come, but I guess there aren't many opportunities to buy a newspaper chain on this scale. 

There remains a lot of private equity money on the sideline looking for deals.  I expect 2006 to continue the heavy M&A activity of the past few years in the content space.

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