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Sep. 6--American City Business Journals Inc., the owner of several sports-business publications, said Tuesday that it will buy the Sporting News. American City said it plans to study the Sporting News' operations before deciding whether to keep the weekly magazine's headquarters in Creve Coeur.
American City is the parent of the weekly St. Louis Business Journal and similar publications in 40 other cities. It will acquire the Sporting News' print, online, book and radio operations from Seattle-based Vulcan Sports Media Inc. Neither of the privately held companies would disclose terms of the deal.
However, in a story published in February by The New York Times, Rick Allen, the Sporting News' chief executive, said he expected the franchise would "fetch into the hundreds of millions." The magazine's estimated annual revenue is $60 million, according to business researcher Hoover's Inc.
The sale is expected to be completed in early October. Vulcan had been publicly searching for a buyer since February.
In a statement, Ray Shaw, American City's chairman and chief executive, called the Sporting News a strong brand with considerable upside on multiple platforms.
Allen, speaking for the Sporting News, said he was excited by the result of Vulcan's search for a buyer and the opportunities that working for a larger media company would offer to the magazine's 200 employees. It has 76 employees in Creve Coeur.
"They will help us sharpen our strategy and more effectively go after advertising dollars on all those platforms," Allen said, speaking of the print, online and radio elements of the Sporting News.
Asked if the Sporting News would move out of the St. Louis area, Allen said he did not know, but that Shaw would analyze the magazine's operations in coming months.
American City also owns Street & Smith's SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. It is a unit of New York-based Advance Publications Inc., owner of magazine publisher Condé Nast Publications.
Advance was the owner of the old St. Louis Globe-Democrat until selling it in 1984. Advance also owns a 5 percent stake in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, with the remainder owned by Lee Enterprises Inc.
A spokesperson for Vulcan declined to comment on the sale announcement.
Though widely respected for its history, the Sporting News' circulation of 704,906 places it well behind competitors Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine. Those publications have circulations of more than 3.2 million and 2 million, respectively. Each publication also draws sizeable numbers on its website.
Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. and the owner of Vulcan, purchased the Sporting News in 2000. (He's not related to Rick Allen, the Sporting News' CEO.) Paul Allen also is chairman of Town and Country-based Charter Communications Inc. as well as owner of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association.
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