Comdex owner to sell publishing unit for $780 million

Tuesday, Dec. 7, 1999 | 11:30 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

NEW YORK -- Ziff-Davis Inc., owner of the Comdex trade show in Las Vegas, is selling its publishing business, which includes a large group of computer and Internet magazines, for $780 million in cash to the buyout firm Willis Stein & Partners.

Among the titles included in the sale announced Monday are PC Magazine, PC Week, PC Computing and Yahoo! Internet Life. The deal is expected to close in the first three months of the year 2000.

Ziff-Davis, which is controlled by Japan's Softbank Corp., will be left with its trade show division including the Comdex shows and its Internet property ZDNet.

Ziff-Davis officials today would not comment directly on the status of the planned sale of Comdex and the other trade shows.

"We do expect there will be another definitive announcement before the end of this year involving the next step with out remaining businesses," said Ziff-Davis spokesman Robert Borchert.

Willis Stein manages about $1.2 billion in equity capital and invests in the media, telecommunications, business services, manufacturing and health care industries.

Among its current media investments are CTN Media Group, which produces TV programs and magazines aimed at college students; the magazine subscription marketer USApubs.com and children's publisher Troll Communications.

James D. Dunning Jr., a media executive who was involved in Willis Stein's purchase and subsequent sale of magazine publisher The Petersen Companies Inc., was named as chairman of Ziff-Davis Publishing.

Mike Perlis will continue as president and chief executive. No immediate changes are planned at the Ziff-Davis magazines, spokesman Daniel Courtney said.

Willis Stein bought Petersen for $465 million in 1996 and sold it for $1.5 billion earlier this year. Petersen published Hot Rod, Motor Trend and Teen magazines, among others.

New York-based Ziff-Davis has been selling assets, and had announced in July that it had hired an investment firm to consider its alternatives.

Also excluded from the publishing sale is its Computer Shopper publication and its ownership interest in Red Herring, which covers the high-tech industry.

ZDNet, in the meantime, retains the right to use Ziff-Davis Publishing content online for five years in return for a royalty.