Swiftsure Advisor: Gordon Gardiner
Sold to Bobit Business Media in April 2012
A family-owned business for sixty years, Newport Business Media has been a leader in magazine publishing since 1952. Its primary publication, Heavy Duty Trucking, sets the gold standard of the trucking industry with the largest circulation and broad recognition of its superb editorial content. Over its long and storied history, HDT has received over 45 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards for editorial excellence including two of the prestigious Grand Neal Awards, the top editorial award for B2B publications.
When the family that owned Newport was considering how to leverage its blue chip market position, Swiftsure helped them evaluate various strategic options. After thorough analysis of various valuation scenarios, Swiftsure recommended a sale to a larger party that had the management, resources and complementary assets to take Newport’s business forward successfully. Swiftsure contacted a tight cohort of potential buyers and engaged in deeper negotiations with several. As is often the case with family-owned companies, the decision to sell to any one party was not driven solely by financial considerations but also by the chemistry between the buyer and the selling family. Bobit Business Media, itself a family-owned business for many years, was the perfect fit with Newport in terms of strategic and cultural alignment.
Newport Business Media
“My family had owned this business for 60 years, and we didn’t want to put our future in the hands of a junior banker. The situation was particularly tricky because our industry is relatively small. Everybody knows each other. Any indication that our business was for sale could be perceived negatively by our advertisers. Gordie did the analysis we needed for a perspective on valuation, and he guided us through the negotiations with the selected parties. My family and I were very pleased with the outcome.”
—Jim Hutchinson, former Chairman and CEO, Newport Business Media
