Marie Claire owner Future snaps up The Week publisher Dennis for £300m

UK media group Future, which houses publications like Marie Claire and TechRadar, has acquired rival media company Dennis for £300m in a bid to strengthen its foothold in the US.

The deal includes The Week, Science & Nature, IT Pro, Computer Active, PC Pro, Minecraft World, and Coach, but not Viz, Fortean Times, Cyclist and Expert Reviews all of which are being retained by Exponent Private Equity.

Future’s Magazine division focuses on publishing specialist content, with a combined global circulation of over £3m delivered annually through more than 115 magazines and 410 bookazines.

The deal is set to extend its reach in North America and diversify its revenue mix by increasing subscription revenue. Dennis has more than 700,000 subscribers currently accounting for 75 percent of its revenues. Dennis revenues in 2020 were £104.8m, with underlying profits of £20m. More than half of Dennis’ revenue comes from the United States. Future expects the acquisition to boost its earnings significantly.

Future said the deal is being funded via its debt facility, which was increased to GBP600 million last month.

Through the acquisition it also hopes to expand its presence in the fields of Technology and Finance. Future intends to boost its importance in the financial publishing market in the US and UK with magazines such as Moneyweek and Kiplinger. The acquisition will enhance the Groups ability to broaden its monetisation channels. Tech platforms will be leveraged for advertising and eCommerce platforms.

Zillah Byong-Thorne, Future’s CEO, said “The materially earnings enhancing acquisition is highly complementary to our longstanding ‘US first’ mindset and provides an attractive opportunity to scale our recently created ‘Wealth’ vertical, whilst diversifying our presence in our ‘Knowledge’ and ‘B2B Pro Technology’ verticals.”