Reader’s Digest to be bought by investment group
Reader’s Digest Assn. Inc. said Thursday that it had agreed to be bought for about $1.6 billion in cash by an investment group led by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings.
Ripplewood offered $17 for each share of the Pleasantville, N.Y.-based publishing and direct marketing company, a premium of 10% over the stock’s closing price Wednesday of $15.51.
The private equity group would also assume Reader’s Digest’s debt.
In its filing with regulators for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, the company said long-term debt totaled $776.3 million.
Reader’s Digest has struggled in recent years as its direct-marketing and book sales businesses have been challenged by the boom in online book sales from places like Amazon.com.
The Ripplewood-led investment group includes J. Rothschild Group, GoldenTree Asset Management, GSO Capital Partners, Merrill Lynch Capital Corp. and Magnetar Capital.
Shares of Reader’s Digest rose $1.19, or 7.7%, to $16.70.
Sign up for our Book Club newsletter
Get the latest news, events and more from the Los Angeles Times Book Club, and help us get L.A. reading and talking.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
