Media Company Reed Elsevier, UK, is close to selling its publishing unit Reed Business Information (RBI) to private equity firm Bain Capital for $1 billion, according to media reports. Bain moved into the lead after rival private equity group TPG recently pulled out of the bidding quoting the investment as too risky.
The $1billion price tag is well short of the $1.8 billion that Reed Elsevier was hoping for when it announced that it was putting the unit up for sale in February.
The sale of RBI, whose titles include New Scientist and Flight International, began in July 2008 when information was sent to potential bidders. RBI is the largest B2B publisher in North America, with 2,500 employees and 80 magazines.
