The Independent says that Bain Capital is the only remaining bidder for Reed Elsevier’s magazine unit, as TPG has dropped out. Facing a bid of about $1 billion–half of what they were hoping for, “Reed Elsevier is understood to be unhappy with some of the conditions
of Bain’s bid, which includes a complicated earn-out structure – a move
that would effectively tie key executives to RBI for a number of years.” They also report that ceo Crispin Davis has “invited” Apollo Group–which dropped out of the bidding earlier in the year (featured in the Sunday’s NYT business section for their string of high-profile failed investments) to try again. If Bain acquires the business, others expect them to reap “quick savings through restructuring.”
Independent