BPI Communications L.P., the publisher of Billboard magazine and The Hollywood Reporter, has been acquired by VNU, a Dutch media conglomerate, for $220 million, the two companies announced yesterday.
VNU acquired the company from a group of investors made up of BPI management, Boston Ventures and The New York Times Company. The Times Company acquired its one-third interest in BPI Communications last year through its acquisition of Affiliated Publications Inc., the publisher of The Boston Globe.
Besides Billboard and the Hollywood Reporter, BPI publishes 17 magazines, including Adweek, a trade publication. Through its book division, Watson-Guptill, it publishes specialty books under five imprints. It also puts out 20 annual directories and operates computer-based communications and information services. The company's annual sales total $130 million, and it employs 800 people at 19 offices worldwide.
VNU, or Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven B.V., is the largest producer of mass circulation publications in the Netherlands, owning magazines, regional newspapers, broadcasting interests and computer data bases. VNU has expressed an interest in expanding in the United States, where the bulk of its current holdings are in data bases.
The Times Company said it expected to receive net proceeds of approximately $55 million when the sale of BPI is completed in the first quarter. For financial reporting purposes, the company said, no gain or loss will be recognized on the transaction.
