Citing a leaked memo to staff, a number of news sources this morning have reported that the publishing group is in talks to sell its controlled circulation magazines, as part of a reorganisation of its Reed Business Information (RBI) division in the US.

Controlled circulation magazines are the dominant business model of the trade magazine industry, where magazines are sent out free of charge to named individuals, funded by advertising.

RBI US chief executive John Poulin allegedly warned in the memo that the reorganisation would result in “title closures and job losses”.

Poulin added that the move reflected the “impact of the structural changes in our markets, accelerated by the recession”.

Reed Elsevier attempted to offload RBI in 2008, but the financial crisis overtook the sales process and the publisher was forced to drop the price before scrapping the sales process altogether.

Read the original article at www.printweek.com.

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