The company said, however, that it would resume looking for a buyer in the “medium term” once economic conditions improved.

“In view of the recent deterioration in macro-economic outlook and poor credit market conditions, and after discussions with short listed bidders, the Board has judged it not possible to structure a transaction on acceptable terms at this time,” the company said in a statement.

Reed publishes several titles locally, including Australian Doctor, New Scientist, B&T, Travel Week, Encore and Digital Media, and roughly 400 publications worldwide.

Reed Elsevier announced its intention to offload Reed Business Information in February of this year, claiming that “its advertising revenue model and the inherent cyclicality fit less well with the subscription based information and workflow solutions focus of Reed Elsevier’s strategy.”

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