25th Jan 2005 07:00
Future Network PLC25 January 2005 25 January 2004 The Future Network plc Acquisition of A&S Publishing Company Limited The Future Network plc ('Future'), the international special-interest consumermagazine group, today announces that it has acquired the entire issued capitalof A&S Publishing Company Limited ('A&S'), for a net cash consideration of£5.95m, subject to a post completion adjustment (see note 1). A&S commenced trading in 1985 and today it publishes 11 motoring magazines. Itstop three selling titles are: Classic Ford, Fast Ford and Trucking. In additionto magazines, A&S also owns and operates eight national motoring events, thelargest of which is TRAX. Turnover for A&S for the year ended 31 December 2003 was £5.9m (2002: £4.9m) andpre-tax profits were £0.1m (2002: £0.4m). Future has set a target level of aminimum of £0.8m of full-year operating profits to be achieved, followingintegration of the acquired business. Accordingly, for the financial year to 30September 2006, Future anticipates that the acquisition will enhance adjustedearnings per share and Future expects to achieve a post-tax return on thisinvestment in excess of its weighted average cost of capital. Commenting on the acquisition Greg Ingham, Chief Executive of The Future Networkplc, said: "These titles will fit very neatly into our portfolio and will build on thesuccess of our own motoring title, Redline. They will also give us immediatecritical mass in the motoring enthusiast segment and will themselves benefit atnewsstand from being part of a larger publishing business. We are delighted towelcome the publishing and editorial teams to Future and to add these titles andevents to the Future portfolio." Future will now start a consultation process with existing A&S employees overthe transfer to Future. No major changes are planned for the editorial contentof the magazines. Enquiries: The Future Network plcGreg Ingham, Chief Executive Tel: 01225 442244John Bowman, Finance Director Tel: 01225 732281 Hogarth PartnershipJames Longfield/Georgina Briscoe Tel: 020 7357 9477 Notes to Editors Note 1The post completion adjustment is based on the Net Asset Value of the businessfollowing the preparation of completion accounts as at 24 January 2005. About A&S Publishing A&S was founded in the UK by Peter Minnis, with the backing of Forlags ABAlbinsson & Sjoberg, Sweden's largest publisher of motoring magazines. Itcommenced trading in London in 1985, publishing Trucking International (nowcalled Trucking) before moving to Gloucester in 1988. In 1989 it acquired FastFord magazine and the Ford Fair event. A&S' other motoring magazines are: Classic Ford, Retro Cars, Total Vauxhall,Mini Magazine, GoMini, Total BMW, Total Car Audio. A&S' road transport magazines include Trucking and Truckstop News (freedistribution - monthly). It also owns and operates eight motoring events, the largest of which is TRAX.Held annually at Silverstone in September, TRAX attracts over 16,000 young carenthusiasts with the opportunity to view some of the best modified cars in theUK and also the chance for many to drive their own cars on the famous circuit. A&S' other events are: Ford Fair, Mini in the Park, Performance Vauxhall Show,Classic Ford Show, Total BMW Show, Japfest and Retro Cars Show. About Future The Future Network plc was founded in the UK in 1985. Today, it publishes over100 regular special-interest consumer magazines worldwide and is the fifthlargest magazine publisher in the UK.Future employs around 1,100 people in offices in the UK, US, France and Italy.Over 100 international editions of Future's magazines are also published underlicence in 30 other countries across the world. The company is listed on theLondon Stock Exchange (symbol: FNET). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Future