Dow Jones & Co. Buys U.K. Financial Publisher

By: E&P Staff Dow Jones & Company reached agreement Friday to buy eFinancialNews Holdings Ltd., a private London-based print and online publisher of financial news, for 26.1 million British pounds, or about US$51.6 million.

The diversified media company's flagship operations include the weekly Financial News publication and eFinancialNews.com Web site, a subscription-based service. The company also publishes Private Equity, a weekly publication focused on the European private equity sector, and offers training and events for people in investment banking, asset management, private equity and trading.

Approximately 54% of 2007 revenue is expected to come from non-print sources, Dow Jones said.

"Acquiring eFinancialNews is wholly consistent with our mission to serve customers with indispensable business and related content wherever, however and whenever they desire," Dow Jones CEO Rich Zannino said in a statement. " Its fast-growing print, online, training and events businesses will enhance the growth and profitability of our European consumer and enterprise media operations and add successful digital and other non-print businesses to help diversify our reliance on traditional print revenue."

L. Gordon Crovitz, president of the Dow Jones Consumer Media Group and publisher of The Wall Street Journal said the acquisition will allow eFinancialNews to enhance its offerings through The Wall Street Journal Europe and other Dow Jones operations in Europe. "And Dow Jones products will benefit in turn from the scale and expertise of eFinancialNews in the $10 billion U.K. print and online advertising market," Crovitz said.

Dow Jones said the net price represents approximately 10.1 times 2007 estimated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), including 2007 cost synergies.

"The acquisition is expected to have no impact on Dow Jones EPS (earnings per share) in 2007 and be accretive by 3 cents to 5 cents in 2008," Dow Jones said.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter, Dow Jones said.