Permira considers Reed mags bid

It is reported that UK private equity group Permira has emerged as a potential suitor for Reed Business Information, the trade magazines arm of Reed Elsevier.

Permira joins buyout firms including Cinven, Candover, CVC and Providence Equity Partners as potential bidders for the group, which could soon be on the block for about £1.25bn.

It is also understood that Apax and Guardian Media Group (GMG), which recently acquired Emap’s business-to-business arm together for £1bn, have held discussions in the past two weeks about the possibility of jointly bidding for the magazines business, which owns titles such as New Scientist and Computer Weekly.