Stefan Mileschin

End of an era

Blackstone has bought IDG, the publishing house which brings you CIO, Computerworld, InfoWorld, Macworld, Network World, PCWorld and Tech Hive for $1.3 billion.

The company had been owned by Oriental Rainbow, LLC, a subsidiary of China Oceanwide Holdings Group.

The media publishing arm was once a powerhouse in the 1990s tech publishing world. However, its shine has faded in recent years as the publishing industry has come under intense pressure.

The company has also made some additions to the platform more recently, with a stronger focus on data and analytics. Last year it bought Triblio, a marketing data platform to help companies deliver more personalised customer experiences. Last month it acquired Metri, an IT pricing service, which can help with IT budgeting and procurement. The latter could dovetail nicely with IDC’s consulting services.

Company CEO Mohamad Ali [no really, ed] is hoping that Blackstone can infuse more capital into the company to keep building on its software services with a data focus.

“Additional capital investment from Blackstone will allow us to cultivate our rich history of innovation and accelerate our product roadmaps to bring our customers the deeper insights and data they need to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving digital economy”, Ali said in a statement.

https://fudzilla.com/news/52988-idg-...-by-blackstone