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IDG, Owner of PCWorld and Research Firm IDC, in Advanced Talks To Sell Itself To Chinese Buyout Group: Reuters (reuters.com)
International Data Group, a pioneer in technology publishing and owner of such venerable names as PCWorld and the market research firm IDC, is in talks to sell itself for more than $1 billion to a Chinese investor group headed by IDG of Greater China chairman Hugo Shong, reports Reuters. From the report:The identity of the other investors in the group and the exact size of the deal could not be learned. The privately held company had been seeking a valuation of $500 million to $1 billion, according to the people, who did not want to be named because the matter is private. While the parties are in advanced discussions, no deal is finalized and talks could fall apart at any time, the people cautioned. IDG, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, declined to comment. Shong could not immediately be reached for comment. Founded in 1964, IDG has grown to be one of the largest global trade publishers, with hundreds of tech-focused websites and magazines. Its charismatic founder and longtime CEO, Pat McGovern, died two years ago.
Rather than some random Wall Street financial services company buying IDG, slapping some paint on it and reselling it three or four years down the road or just writing it off for tax purposes, Hugo Shong would actually have the best interests in mind for this hugely under-invested tech media giant. Shong was a protege' of IDG's founder Pat McGovern and founding general partner of IDG Capital Partners and chairman of IDG Greater China. His purchase of the company would basically be keeping it in the family. This is a good profile of Shong. Of course, this hinges on Trump not blocking this with his trade agenda.
Excuse me if I don't hold my breath till that one comes to fruition.....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
As far as IDG goes, they're the old guard computing trade publications from the print era (Computerworld, CIO, InfoWorld, etc.) and run a bunch of marketing shill companies that put on trade shows. I wonder what the Chinese want with them...I can't remember the last time i sat down to read some of their publications. I'll check out an article here and there but I'd hardly call them the authority on fresh cutting edge tech news.
I've seen a lot of stories lately that go something like "Chinese firm buys American firm in mega-deal!!! OMG disaster!" I'm just old enough to remember when the US was freaking out as Japan bought very large, symbolically important American companies and properties at the height of their economic bubble. It was certainly worrisome enough that MBAs were being encouraged to learn Japanese, for example. And that kind of made sense -- in 20 years they had managed to break the domestic automakers' virtual "triopoly" on car manufacturing and produced some seriously good consumer electronics, so there was definitely consumer-level recognition of their rise.
I guess the only thing that's different is that China has a huge population advantage and a...more involved...central government. One of the advantages they have is that, while they're basically a market economy, they retain full control over some key economic and society levers. In their case, something that would take years of fighting and compromise to make happen here is done basically at will. Imagine trying the "mass migration" that China is working on in the US...moving hundreds of millions of peasants to the cities to stimulate growth. You'd have a revolution on your hands here if you tried to move someone.