Bloomberg LP Acquires BusinessWeek

Bloomberg LP has agreed to acquire BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill, the company announced Tuesday. The terms of the sale were not disclosed, though BusinessWeek's Tom Lowry cites sources placing the deal in the $2-5 million range:

Terms of the offer will not be disclosed by Bloomberg and BusinessWeek parent McGraw-Hill Cos. But knowledgeable sources say that Bloomberg's cash offer is in the $2 million to $5 million range and that it has agreed to assume liabilities, including potential severance payments.

The New York Times' Stephanie Clifford reports that the magazine will now be named Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and that Bloomberg Markets will continue to be published.

Bloomberg has been the frontrunner to take over the magazine for several weeks. Time Inc. and Wall Street Journal veteran Norm Pearlstein, who has served as Bloomberg's Chief Content Officer, will become Chairman of BusinessWeek.

"The BusinessWeek acquisition will yield huge benefits for users of the Bloomberg terminal,
and for our television, online and mobile properties," Daniel L. Doctoroff, president of
Bloomberg LP, said in a release. "We couldn't be more excited."

Doctoroff added, "BusinessWeek helps better serve our customers by reaching into the corporate suite and corridors of power in government, where news that affects markets and business is made by CEOs, CFOs, deal lawyers, bankers and government officials who typically are not terminal customers."

Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler added, "BusinessWeek, with its extraordinary context and perspective on the economy and companies, presents a giant opportunity for the BLOOMBERG NEWS service to reach decision makers in the most important industries. We are thrilled to have such experienced journalists as our colleagues.''

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