Apax and GMG to buy Emap

Apax Partners and Guardian Media Group have put in a £2bn (US$3.97bn) bid for the whole of UK publisher Emap, which sold its consumer magazine and radio units to German publisher Heinrich Bauer Verlag for £1.14bn earlier in December.

Apax and GMG, through their Eden Bidco vehicle, have offered 931p in cash per share in combination with the special dividend from the consumer magazine and radio disposal, which values the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Emap at approximately £2bn.

Emap shareholders will received 470p regarding the Eden Bidco offer – approximately £1bn in transaction value – subject to receipt of a special dividend from the Bauer buy of 461p in cash per Emap share.

It is understood that financing is in place for the purchase but no banks were named.

Apax and GMG have been long mooted as potential purchasers of Emap, which has been subject to takeover speculation for much of 2007.