Magazine powerhouses Bauer Media and Pacific Magazines are rumoured to be in talks over a proposed mega-merger which would see the two firms shrink printing costs and combine resources.
It is believed Bauer has approached fellow publishing superpower Pacific Magazines over a potential sale. The rumours come as Bauer CEO Nick Chan began pedalling a company-wide realignment to his staff.
It is not the first time a potential synergy between the country’s two biggest publishers has been considered, however the imperative at present is the declining circulation of some of the mass market magazines and the closure or transfer to online of some of the smaller titles.
A merger would likely see the rationalisation of print costs across the publishing giants, with the companies currently using PMP and IPMG for much of their magazine work, who are themselves due to merge early in the new year. Earlier in the year Bauer closed down its own distribution business and outsourced the lot to PMP’s mailing arm Gordon and Gotch.
It was only four years ago when Bauer which was then ACP was actively considering building its own print centre, with a full time team in place to steer it through, although eventually it did not happen.
[Related: Bauer in major magazine shake-up]
The last several years has seen a mass exodus of underperforming Bauer and Pacific titles. Bauer closed Women’s Fitness in 2014 before it was rescued by Citrus Media, shut Zoo Weekly and Top Gear in October last year and folded women’s fashion Cleo in January this year.
This month new Pac Mags CEO Gereurd Roberts sold off youth titles K-Zone and Total Girl. His predecessor Peter Zavecz also dumped Prevention Magazine and Your Garden earlier this year.
Bauer has a significantly larger pool of mastheads than Pac Mags, and would likely be the commanding brand if a merger was to go ahead.
Both Bauer and Pacific Magazines have declined to comment on the speculation.
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