Bauer Media Australia, the country's biggest magazine publisher, has been sold to Sydney-based private investment firm Mercury Capital.
"We have been proud to be the custodian of these iconic titles in Australia. I am confident that under Mercury's ownership they will continue to thrive," said Veit Dengler, chief operating officer of the Germany-based Bauer Media Group, in a statement on Wednesday.
Bauer Media Australia publishes several best-selling magazines, including Woman's Day, Women's Weekly, TV Week, Elle, and OK!
The binding offer involves all titles, including Bauer's New Zealand mastheads, but the sale is subject to regulatory approval, with the transaction expected to be complete in mid-July.
The sale price of its Australian publishing business has not been disclosed, but the Australian Financial Review newspaper said it was for "less than 50 million dollars."
Bauer Media Australia had purchased in April its fierce competitor, Pacific Magazines, for 40 million dollars (27.5 million U.S. dollars), which saw it gain 14 Australian and New Zealand magazines.
The latest sale portfolio includes 43 brands that reach six in ten Australian women each month and has 6.8 million readers per year and social connections to more than 30.5 million, the company said.
In April, Bauer Media New Zealand folded, including the magazine Listener founded in 1939, due to the "severe economic impact" of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The German family-owned publishing conglomerate, headquartered in Hamburg, entered the Australian market in 2012 after buying ACP Magazines for half a billion dollars.
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