In its debut deal, Observer Capital, a private equity firm, has acquired SourceMedia, the publisher of American Banker, from another PE firm, Investcorp, for an undisclosed price.
"We believe the B-to-B market is poised for growth, particularly with the application of new digital technologies and we see SourceMedia as an ideal platform from which to pursue that growth," said Joseph Meyer, who founded Observer Capital last year. The firm focuses on middle-market private equity and special-situations investments. Meyer serves as CEO of Observer Media, the holding company that publishes the New York Observer, which was bought by real estate investor Jared Kushner, Meyer's brother-in-law, for $10 million in 2006. Meyer previously worked for the hedge fund Elliott Management and MSD Capital.
New York-based SourceMedia is a business-to-business media company with publications aimed at the financial, technology and health care industries. The company provides clients and paid subscribers with digital news, information, industry research, data, conferences, seminars and marketing services. Douglas Manoni will continue to serve as CEO.
SourceMedia's other titles include PaymentsSource, National Mortgage News, Asset Securitization Report, Mergers & Acquisitions, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning and Accounting Today.
The company has been owned by Investcorp since 2004, when the Manama, Bahrain-based private equity firm carved it out of Thomson Financial (now Thomson Reuters) for a reported $350 million. In 2011, Investcorp sold a unit of the company that focused on data called Accuity to Reed Elsevier in a deal said to be worth $530 million.
