ALM, the parent company of The American Lawyer and other publications, announced Tuesday it has acquired the British magazine Legal Week from Incisive Media.
The deal closed Jan. 8 on undisclosed terms.
It marks the fourth deal since ALM was acquired by Wasserstein & Co. in 2014 and adds another legal trade publication to the ALM fold, which already includes Asian Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, The National Law Journal as well as regional publications such as The San Francisco Recorder. In addition, Legal Week hosts a number of events such as a Corporate Counsel Forum series and The British Legal Awards.
Lenny Izzo, president of Legal Media Group at ALM, told Big Law Business via email on Tuesday, “We expect to continue to build out our portfolio internationally since we know that the practice of law is a global business.”
Izzo added: “We are always open to additional opportunities that align with our growth strategy of improving our capabilities to better serve our clients, who generally operate in regulated and highly complex businesses.”
It marks the latest in a series of transactions between the two media companies: In 2007, Incisive Media bought ALM from Wasserstein & Co. for $630 million, but it defaulted on its debt in 2009, according to The American Lawyer . The company’s lenders, private equity firm Apax Partners and The Royal Bank of Scotland, sold ALM back to Wasserstein & Co. for a reported $417 million .
In January 2015, ALM acquired Summit Professional Networks, an insurance and financial services product, and in December 2014, it acquired Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory. In August, ALM acquired China Law & Practice from Euromoney.
Bill Carter, chief executive officer of ALM, said the purchase of Legal Week is “an important next step” in the company’s planned expansion into key international markets.
“Legal Week has a strong audience base in Europe and Asia, and an impressive collection of industry events,” Carter said in a statement on Tuesday. “It has also successfully transitioned to a business model primarily focused on digital content and services. These attributes make Legal Week an ideal addition to our platform.”
ALM put a correspondent in London about 15 years ago and Chris Johnson, who is currently the chief European correspondent for The American Lawyer, was appointed to that position in 2010. ALM said there are currently five people in its London office.
ALM also has an office in Hong Kong, which was opened about five years ago. ALM has five representatives, including three journalists, a publisher and a translator, staffing that office.
ALM was represented in the transaction by a team at Jones Day led by London-based partner Weyinmi Popo, while Incisive was advised by a team of Macfarlanes LLP lawyers led by senior counsel Will David.
Representatives for Legal Week didn’t immediately return Big Law Business’s requests for comment on Tuesday.
(Corrected: This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Lenny Izzo)
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