MBI has a turnover of £11m and 70 staff working across the two magazine titles and other brands Shots, ALF and BRAD. The deal is believed to be worth more than £10m, but official terms have not been disclosed.
Mobeus, which also owns Virgin Wines, provided a combined debt and equity package to support the management buyout of MBI alongside existing directors Conor Dignam and Alison Pitchford.
Dignam was managing director of Top Right’s media brands under the Emap division, and is a former editor of Broadcast, the UK’s TV production industry title.
Top Right Group is owned by Apax Partners LLP and Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian and theguardian.com. Apax and GMG bought Top Right, then called Emap, in 2008 in a deal worth £1bn.
Top Right Group is on track to report its highest growth for 13 years after turning around a decline in its subscriber base. The company said the value released by the MBI deal would be reinvested in securing global growth and to fund strategic acquisitions.
Dignam, CEO of MBI, said: “We have transformed our business since 2012, bringing in additional digital expertise and developing multiple brand iterations to better serve our customers. We are delighted to be partnering with Mobeus, whose support will enable us to continue to attract customers and grow our business.”
Chris Price, investment director at Mobeus, said: “Mobeus is delighted to have backed an experienced and successful team who have proved their ability to deliver sector leading multi-platform information resources and events.
“From our first meeting, we felt that we had identified our primary requirement in MBI, namely a business run by enthusiastic and committed people. Top Right Group has been very supportive of management throughout this process and has facilitated a collegiate and positive outcome for all parties.”
Duncan Painter, CEO of Top Right Group said: “We believe Mobeus is an excellent partnership for the MBI business. Their investment will enable the management team to further develop the valuable information MBI provides to its customers across multiple platforms. We wish them every success with their plans for the future.”
Screen International has hired former Total Film editor Matt Mueller as its new editor. Currently a freelance writer for newspapers, Entertainment Weekly and Indiewire, Mueller will succeed Wendy Mitchell.
