AFP eases its grwoing pains with an Integrated deal
Former Money Management publisher Australian Financial Press has agreed to sell part of its publishing an on-line financial services business to listed investment group Integrated Development Capital.
Former Money Management publisher Australian Financial Press has agreed to sell part of its publishing an on-line financial services business to listed investment group Integrated Development Capital.
Under the deal, AFP managing director and former Money Management publisher David Koch will receive $1 million and be issued 30 million shares in Integrated, giving him about 51 per cent ownership of the Sydney-based company. Koch's interest will be diluted to about 34 per cent on the exercise of Integrated's outstanding options.
AFP was established in 1988 as a joint venture between the Fairfax media group and Koch's family, which took full ownership in 1992. One of the first launches for the group was Money Management which was sold to Reed Elsevier in 1996.
AFP's current on-line strategy is based on the mymoney.com.au web-site, which acts as a financial supplement providing finance informa-tion on a wide range of banking, investment and insurance products.
In addition to the mymoney site, AFP also has a small business web-site, businesssuccess.com.au. Its other publishing interests include Inside Business Success magazine, My Money magazine, AFP Custom Pub-lishing and the supply of business and investment information to a range of electronic media.
Koch says Integrated will allow AFP to develop the business to its full potential.
"Frankly the on-line development was outgrowing the resources of a family business...typical growing pains," he says.
"To continue our development and cement a position as an industry leader, we have to recapitalise."
Integrated says it will have the capacity, through its relationship with Reg Grundy's RG Capital, to support the development and market-ing of AFP's online and media publishing strategy. RG Capital is the biggest shareholder in Internet stockbroking group E*TRADE Australia.
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