The client
Digital content platform and publisher Dezeen is a popular and influential architecture and design magazine.
Dezeen has grown rapidly since its launch in November 2006, with its audience
growing year on year – by 2019 the average number of monthly visitors had risen to three million.
What we did
Our advisory team, led by director Adrian Howells, were instructed as the lead adviser on the company’s sale to Danish media company, JP/Politikens Hus Media Group (JPP). We oversaw the entire transaction process, including helping to prepare a business plan and financial forecast for the next three years, negotiating terms and price and overseeing the implementation of a revised enterprise management incentive share option scheme for key management.
The outcome
We successfully delivered this transaction in a matter of weeks which resulted in a mutually beneficial outcome for both the sellers and the buyers. It is not often that we see such a complementary match between parties and there is much excitement and opportunity for the future.
The deal, which marks JPP’s first acquisition outside of Scandinavia and is the latest step in its international expansion, will preserve Dezeen’s editorial independence. It will also help to drive the brand’s ambitious growth plans while retaining its position as the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine. As part of the acquisition, founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs will serve as CEO in the UK.
