The Taunton Press has been acquired by Active Interest Media
November 2023 — The Taunton Press, a respected consumer media and book business, has been acquired by Active Interest Media (AIM), a leading media company. The acquisition of The Taunton Press aligns several core markets and allows AIM to expand its mission of inspiring an ever-growing audience of enthusiasts to enjoy their hobbies and interests. This strategic move effectively doubles AIM’s reach and influence across gardening, woodworking and homebuilding.
The Taunton Press has been a trusted source of valuable information and inspiration for enthusiasts and professionals across a range of subjects, including woodworking, homebuilding and design, residential construction, gardening, sewing and fiber arts, since 1975. Millions of professionals and consumers purchase Taunton’s digital products, magazines, videos and books, and use its websites to improve their skills and expand their horizons. Its brands include Fine Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Green Building Advisor, Fine Gardening and Threads. The company has published hundreds of books under The Taunton Press imprint.
One of the world’s leading enthusiast media companies, Active Interest Media produces consumer and trade events, websites, magazines, podcasts and TV shows that reach millions of readers, fans and attendees across the globe. Its brands include Yachts International, Power & Motoryacht, Soundings, Passagemaker, Woodshop News, Log and Timber Home Living, Old House Journal, Woodsmith, Garden Gate, Cuisine at Home, Writer’s Digest, Horticulture, Popular Woodworking, Numismatic News, Kovels Antique Trader, and more. The company’s two groups, Marine and Home, are divided into five divisions — Collectibles, Home Arts, Home Building, Marine and Writer’s Digest — and operate thriving B2B platforms, online universities, events and offer marketing services. AIM’s customers are smart, engaged and loyal, and they look to our brands for trustworthy information and services that will inspire and enable them to enjoy their passions.
Our role in the transaction
Oaklins DeSilva+Phillips, one of Oaklins’ TMT teams in New York, acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to The Taunton Press. This transaction further highlights ODP’s deep sector expertise in advising media businesses.
Andrea Roman
Board Chair, The Taunton Press
Talk to the deal team
Related deals
Moneybox’s employee share sale has set another milestone for London’s Private Securities Market
The London Stock Exchange’s Private Securities Market (PSM) continues to demonstrate its potential as a venue for providing shareholder liquidity in high-growth private companies. Following the successful employee share sale for autonomous driving pioneer Wayve earlier this month, fintech leader Moneybox has completed a US$61 million (£45 million) employee liquidity event through the PSM. By structuring the transaction as an employee liquidity event, long-serving employees with vested equity have been able to realize some of the value they helped create while enabling Moneybox to remain private and continue its growth journey. Crowdcube managed the employee seller and investor participation process.
Learn moreTA Associates has completed a sell-down of its stake in Eurowag
TA Associates has completed a US$40 million accelerated bookbuild (ABB), selling approximately 4.3% of its shareholding in W.A.G. payment solutions AS (Eurowag) through a secondary offering on the London Stock Exchange. The transaction formed part of the private equity sponsor’s continued partial exit following its investment in Eurowag in 2015. The offering attracted strong demand from international institutional and Czech investors, resulting in a successful placement at US$1.33 per share, a 7.4% discount to the previous close and a 2.2% discount to the one-month volume-weighted average price (VWAP).
Learn moreDIGMATIX has entered the Czech market through the acquisition of LLP CRM
DIGMATIX has acquired LLP CRM, a Czech Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement specialist. The acquisition marks DIGMATIX’s entry into the Czech market and strengthens the group’s capabilities in customer relationship management (CRM), sales automation, customer service and AI-powered business solutions.
Learn more