Australia’s biggest magazine publisher Bauer Media Group is reportedly about to close Network Services, its distribution business.

According to the AFR Bauer will close the operation early next year, with PMP subsidiary Gordon & Gotch in pole position to take up the business.

Network is Australia’s largest magazine distribution and subscriptions management company with a market share of 53 per cent of copies sold at retail and 52 per cent of the consumer subscriptions market. Its portfolio accounts for 27 per cent of all consumer magazine titles available in the Australian market 

Bauer is not commenting on the reported exit form distribution or the reasons for it, although the company is known to be pursuing an entry in Australia’s billion dollar radio business, it has already had a bid for Nova entertainment rejected. German owned Bauer is the biggest radio broadcaster in Europe.

Bauer entered Australia in 2012 when it paid $525m for Kerry packer’s old company ACP Magazines. Since then it has been unafraid to dump underperforming operations.

Bauer is the leading publisher in Australia, it sells more than 65 million magazines each year, including the country’s biggest-selling monthly magazine, The Australian Women’s Weekly, as well as Australia’s number one weekly magazine, Woman’s Day, and other segment leading titles such as Dolly, TV Week, Cleo, Cosmopolitan, Australian Gourmet Traveller and Australian House & Garden.

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