Word: ziff
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When CBS last November paid $362.5 million to buy twelve Ziff-Davis magazines (combined monthly circulation: more than 4.5 million), quite a few people thought that the broadcaster had paid too handsome a sum. But CBS Chairman Thomas Wyman remained unfazed, proclaiming the agreement "a rare opportunity to acquire a very successful, well-managed business...
...that conviction has crumbled. In a suit filed last week in New York State Supreme Court, CBS contends that Ziff Corp., the parent company of Ziff- Davis, along with its auditors at Touche Ross, fraudulently misrepresented the company's finances when the deal for the dozen periodicals, including Modern Bride and Stereo Review, was struck. CBS alleges that Ziff Corp. understated costs, perhaps by $4 million, and overstated revenues and operating income, possibly by as much as $40 million. The broadcaster, whose Manhattan office tower is known as Black Rock, seeks an undetermined amount of damages...
Many other industry observers felt, however, that the buyers were as fortunate as the seller. Since the Ziff magazines are among the most lucrative in publishing (each of the two groups had annual profits of some $32 million last year), the impact of the acquisitions will be dramatic for both purchasers...
...Ziff publications (Backpacker, Boating, Car and Driver, Cycle, Flying, Modern Bride, Popular Photography, Skiing, Skiing Trade News, Stereo Review, The Runner and Yachting) are a windfall. In one stroke, CBS added a dozen established moneymakers with a combined circulation of an estimated 4.7 million to its publishing operation. The company already owned eleven titles, including the Sunday newspaper supplement Family Weekly (circ. 13 million), Woman's Day (circ. 6.9 million), Field & Stream (circ. 2 million) and Mechanix Illustrated (circ. 1.6 million). Ziff called CBS "a great new home" for his magazines. A delighted CBS Chairman Thomas Wyman, who helped...
...space were bought in one publication at a time, the advertiser reaches a broader audience with similar interests, and the publisher is able to use the range of his titles to increase ad pages across the board. Some areas of overlap at CBS resulted from the acquisition. Ziffs Cycle and CBS's Cycle World, for instance, are the two leading motorcycle magazines; Ziffs Car and Driver appeals to many of the same readers as CBS's Road & Track; Ziffs Stereo Review and CBS's Audio are rivals, as are Popular Photography (Ziff) and American Photographer (CBS). Nevertheless...