On the Block
-- Publishers Weekly, 2/25/2008
Last week, Reed Elsevier's Tad Smith announced the company's intention to sell its B2B magazine division, Reed Business Information, of which Smith is U.S. CEO. The impending sale of RBI, which houses more than 100 magazine titles including PW and Variety, is part of the company's move away from advertising-dependent businesses, according to RBI CEO Gerard van de Aast.
Group publisher Ron Shank, whose responsibilities include PW, Library Journal and School Library Journal, said that the magazines “will remain focused on expanding their peerless coverage of the news and trends in their respective sectors,” and added that all programs and partnerships “with our readers, clients and online communities” will continue.
The sale, which Smith said is moving forward but could take an unspecified amount of time to complete, does not include Reed Exhibitions, the unit of the company that handles various trade shows, including BEA.
